Texas Bound
by archijenn
Summary: When people from their past come back into their lives it can be a blessing and a curse. That's what new parents Jane and Lisbon discover in the romantic suspense set in my version of season 8.
1. Chapter 1

**Please note: I do not own these characters. I merely take them out to play with from time to time.**

The woman sprawled on the bed was at first confused. How could she be surrounded by liquid warmth yet feel so cold inside? Why was everything- red? She opened her eyes again and looked at the man standing over her. He was smiling. She started to smile and realized that she couldn't. It took too much effort. She noticed the towel in his hands. It was red, too, and he was wiping something off with it. It was a knife- in the towel- stained with blood. She suddenly knew that it was her blood. All the red and the warmth was her blood. She looked around saw the cell phone on the other pillow. She tried to reach for it but couldn't quite get there.

The man chuckled and shook his head, "My, my, you are a very determined creature, aren't you!"

"Why?" she asked using all her strength.

He gave her a reptilian smile, briefly looked at what remained of her slim nude body, and explained in a gentle voice, "As a public employee you served me very well and as for the rest, well, you were quite adequate, but it's time for me to move on."

She shook her head ever so slightly and he saw a tear slide from her green eyes through some of the blood on her face before vanishing in her dark hair. He hated needy women who wanted reasons for everything, but at least this would be over soon.

He sighed and his tone was almost regretful. "My dear, I know you believe that you wouldn't betray me, but we both know that eventually you would. You betrayed the man who loves you by coming here and you betrayed the ethics of your position by giving me information. I'm afraid you simply can't be trusted."

He stood back up and walked into the bathroom. "Now you just close your eyes and it will all end quite soon."

My God, she thought. He was right. She had turned her back on people who cared and loved her for this man. He really was an evil monster and she had given him a very important key to getting his revenge. She heard him in the bathroom starting the shower and humming quietly to himself. He was done with her now and wouldn't give her another moment's thought. She didn't have much time and very little strength left. She needed to give a warning. No one knew what she had done or what he was going to do. Someone needed to be told.

The cell phone seemed to be miles away and even if she reached it she probably wouldn't be able to make a call. She moved her hand through the crumpled sheet. Forensics people usually tore the scene apart in cases like this. If she could leave something there, maybe.

She stopped and listened to him in the shower. He was now singing. His complete disconnect to her humanity hitting her so hard that she almost couldn't continue. She moved her hand under the sheet and moved it along the bedding. As she heard him finish his shower and step out she continued. She had just moved her hand back out on top of the sheet when he returned.

He stopped and looked at her with a slight frown. "Are you still here? Well, it can't be much longer now."

He made one more pass through the room with the cloth to get rid of his fingerprints before he left. He knew he was leaving DNA but given the backup that existed in crime labs today, he would be out of the state before they got the results.

With one last look at the scene to satisfy himself that everything was perfect, he closed and locked the door of his little studio apartment. He hadn't wanted to make it too obvious so he went subtle. Less is more, he joked silently. Besides, he thought to himself, no one will even think to go in there until the body starts to smell.

Inside the room, the woman continued to fade away. There was no pain and she felt very calm. Her eyes slowly lost focus and the arm closest to the side of the bed slipped gently down, blood dripping from her fingertips to the wooden floor and between the planks.

Six hours later, a young programmer named Kyle Larson came home from work and was pleased to see that the neighbor that lived above him was obviously out because his car was missing. Hope the next time you get lucky you'll go back to her place, he thought to himself. He had been dead tired all day thanks to all the noise the guy and his girlfriend had made last night. He would have complained but to be completely honest there was something about the guy that made him want to keep his head down and not make eye contact.

How could any woman want to screw a guy like that? he wondered and put his fast food down on the desk next to the bed. He started to sit down but noticed something wet on the seat. He touched it and was startled by the thick stickiness of it. He looked at his fingers. They were red.

"What the hell?" he said out loud and looked at the chair as if it would give him answers.

Reaching out to move it, something dropped on his arm making him jump. It, too, was red. He looked up at his ceiling and saw a dark round stain about six inches in diameter that was periodically dripping.

"Oh my God!" he said frantically and ran upstairs to knock and the door. "Dude! Mister! Is everything okay? Do you need help?"

Kyle got no response and could hear no movement from within, so he pulled out his cell phone and pressed 9-1-1.

"This is 9-1-1, what is your emergency?"

"Um, yeah, I'm outside my upstairs' neighbor's door and there's no answer and I can't hear anything inside but there's blood leaking through the floor into my apartment."

Three hours later, Sacramento Police Detective, Chuck Hinsdale, was still making notes at the crime scene. The forensic specialists had taken all their photographs, bagged evidence, and dusted for prints. Officers had interviewed the neighbors and Chuck had talked to the downstairs guy that had called in the emergency.

The team from the coroner's office had waited patiently for the okay to remove the body. Chuck gestured that they could come in and they lifted the woman off the bed. As they did so, he noticed something odd with the blood on the bed.

"Wait a minute guys," he said with a frown to the men with the gurney. "I need to see her right hand."

The coroner's assistant shrugged and opened the body bag so that the detective could see the hand. The index fingertip was almost clean with just a hint of smudged dried blood unlike the rest of her which was covered in spatter or nothing at all.

"Okay, thanks," Chuck said and gestured for them to continue. He turned to the forensic tech and said, "Be careful with the sheets. I think she tried to draw something on them."

Slowly they worked through the top sheet and carefully removed it from the bed. With it gone, they could see what was there.

Chuck stood at the foot of the bed and tilted his head first one direction and then another before he shook his head. He walked to the side and looked at it from the view looking down from the headboard. It might be letters, but what did they mean? Making sure plenty of pictures were taken, he still pulled out his phone and took his own.

Chuck had worked as a Sacramento detective for over twenty years. He had seen a lot of violent crime scenes and this was certainly one of those. He couldn't quite put his finger on what this reminded him of, but it definitely had some kind of familiarity.

"Chuck, we've got preliminary time of death for you," the assistant coroner was standing with his small tablet in his hand inputting data.

"Okay, what was it and what else can you tell me? Do we have an I.D. yet?" Chuck was still trying to rack his brain but pulled out his notepad and pen to jot down the findings so far.

"No identification found. However, her prints are in the system. Her name is Jessica Pate. She worked at the state employees' records office. She died at about 0930 this morning, about nine hours ago. Cause of death appears to be multiple stab wounds from one instrument. There were no signs of drug use but we'll do a toxicology report when we get back," the young man reported.

Chuck nodded and finished writing. "Got it, let me know when the full autopsy is completed."

He saw the officer who had been in charge of interviewing the other tenants and the building manager. "Arlene, what do you have?"

Officer Arlene Pettigrew sorted through her notes and gave her report. "According to the landlord, the man who rented this apartment is Jack Dodge. He's been living here alone about 6 months. Pays in cash and the landlord has heard no complaints. The other neighbors say he never spoke to anyone and that he was very quiet until last night. Apparently, they heard a lot of noise coming from here. One neighbor said - and I quote - "He was making the woman damn happy. Never heard one make those noises before.'"

She stopped and stared at Chuck, waiting for him to catch up with his notes. Chuck finally looked up at her and said, "Did anyone think he might be hurting her?"

Arlene shook her head. "No. Even the women who live nearby said it definitely sounded like very passionate sex. Could be that this was the result of something that happened afterward?"

Chuck shrugged. "Who knows yet? Do we know where we're supposed to be able to find Mr. Dodge? Where he works? Or what he drives?"

Arlene had a disgusted look on her face as she answered, "The landlord isn't too interested in particulars with his tenants, especially ones that pay cash up front and don't complain or cause problems. He didn't bother to get a copy of Dodge's driver's license and it turns out the information regarding his vehicle was bogus. Neighbors say he drove an old rusted dark blue Honda and on the tenant agreement he said he drove a black Ford. The license plate is bad too."

Chuck stared at her for a minute. "So what you're saying is that we don't have any idea yet where to find this guy? Do we have a description of him? Has anyone seen a woman here before?"

Arlene grimaced as she went back to her notes. "Mr. Dodge was a loner. The neighbors never saw anyone visit him including the victim. He has bushy long black hair, a big black beard, wears sunglasses and a baseball cap. No one could see any tattoos or scars on him because he was always completely covered. When he spoke he whispered so no one knows what his voice sounds like."

Chuck scratched his head and held his hand to his forehead. "This gets better and better. Okay, thanks Arlene. Be sure to get me a full copy of all your notes as soon as you can."

Officer Pettigrew nodded and moved back out of the room.

He turned to the lead forensic tech and asked, "What interesting things do you have to tell me, Dom?"

Dominic Palamo and Chuck had worked many scenes together and Dom knew that Chuck liked to get as many items as possible in his notebook first thing on a new case.

"I got a few things, Chuck. First, we have bodily fluids, semen on the sheets so I think it's a safe bet they had sex. Whether or not it was consensual, well, hopefully the coroner will tell us. Second, some of the blood splatter is missing so I'm guessing the killer was covered in blood at some point. Third, the killer most likely showered after the attack. We found damp towels in the bathroom. We're taking them to the lab to be tested. Fourth, there were almost no prints in the room. Just a couple bad partials in the bathroom so the killer wiped the place clean."

Dom stopped and Chuck caught up with his notes, looked at them and said, "He wipes off the prints but doesn't worry about leaving DNA on the towels or the bed? Does that make sense?"

Dom shrugged and said, "Maybe he decided that he didn't have time to do everything so he did the one we could check first."

Chuck nodded slowly, "Well, that could make sense. Thanks Dom. Let me know what you find."

As Dom was leaving Chuck stopped him. "Dom, this is bugging me. Does this crime scene remind you of anything? I keep thinking there's something missing."

Dominic looked at him and at the scene. He hadn't noticed it before, but Chuck was right. It did feel eerily familiar. Suddenly Dom stopped and looked around at all the walls. Except for splatter and a couple of cheap prints there was nothing there but it chilled him to have thought of it even for a split second.

Chuck was frowning, "What is it?"

Dominic turned to him and said, "I was double-checking to make sure we hadn't missed a Goddamn smiley face."


	2. Chapter 2

**Please note: This chapter should be rated a bit more "M" than I normally write. Adjust accordingly. Cheers! Archijenn**

Patrick Jane couldn't help groaning as he came awake. The past few days had been rough, but the results were there for all to see, making his aches and pains much more bearable. He sat up and swung his feet over the side before stopping to stretch his tired muscles again.

The morning air felt cool and fresh as it came in through the bedroom windows and rushed through the open doorway. With the breeze came the sounds of birds and the creaking of the tree limbs. The wind was picking up a bit. Looks like a change in the weather, he thought.

He stood up and walked into the attached bathroom. He was rather satisfied with the way this had turned out. It wasn't a large spa-like retreat. His beautiful and practical wife Teresa Lisbon didn't want or need that in her house she had said. The one indulgence was the floor warmer under the tile. Granted, it wasn't working yet, because he and his brother-in-law Jimmy, the expert electrician on the project, had not finished the wiring to the panel, but it would work by the time winter arrived. It had only one sink, but with ample counter space. The sink itself was an old bureau with a marble top that their boss Kimball Cho had found and brought out as a belated wedding gift. Patrick had it retrofitted and Teresa was thrilled. It matched perfectly with the enormous claw foot tub that she had located and had re-glazed. His brother-in-law Stan had added a shower fitting above it making it ideal them. With the other finishings, it was a 21st century rustic tone that suited the cabin perfectly.

Finishing his morning routines, Patrick walked out to the kitchen where he found his wife, their amazing baby girl, and a kettle of hot water. He leaned over, and placed a lingering kiss on Teresa's neck. "Good morning, love."

Teresa gave a little sigh and smile while still watching their daughter. "Good morning to you, too."

Patrick move forward and kissed his daughter on the forehead. "And good morning, Clara, my sweet girl."

Clara seemed to give her father a mild look as she continued to concentrate on the bottle her mother was feeding her. "She seems to be happy with the bottle now," Patrick observed.

Teresa had stopped breastfeeding about two weeks ago in preparation for her return to work. It was a source of anxiety for her and, at first, she wasn't sure how she felt about the fact that Clara had been so accepting of the change. However, given that tomorrow was the first day back to work, she had decided to be okay with this.

"That's because she's a very good little girl," she said with a gentle smile for her daughter.

Clara Marie Jane was an amazing gift for both her parents who had thought that being in love and married would be wonderful enough. Neither one had thought to hope for children. Both had feared that they might be getting a little too old since Teresa had already turned 40 and Patrick was 45. Yet, Teresa's doctor had only been slightly concerned and thought everything would be fine. No one realized that Teresa had internal scar tissue and damage dating back to the two car accidents she had been in with first her mother then her father. During the first two trimesters, all gone had been smoothly. She had very little morning sickness and felt great most of the time, although she could fall asleep in the blink of an eye. However, as the baby grew in the final three months, there had been multiple problems and she was finally placed on total bed rest the final six weeks. She managed to carry the baby to term but not without incredible anxiety. After Clara's birth, the doctor told Teresa that the chances of having a second healthy child were very slim leading Teresa to decide to have a tubal ligation. Patrick had supported his wife's decision. He had lived in a state of constant fear those last few months afraid that he might lose her, the baby, or both. He didn't want to go through that again.

As Clara finished the bottle, Teresa shifted her for burping and said to Patrick, "I heard that groaning when you were getting up. Are you feeling okay?"

Patrick, in the process of making his morning tea, gave a short laugh and said, "That was the sound of a man who is grateful he doesn't have to do anymore framing for the next few weeks. Happy and sore."

"You should also feel proud. The addition is looking wonderful. You're practically doubling the size of our cabin," she commented.

He loved the fact that she didn't call it THE cabin anymore, but instead, OUR cabin. He knew she would fall in love with this place. Oh sure, she had worried about him when he first brought her here and said that he was going to buy the 24 acres and old cabin. She was a city girl and liked basic comforts- like toilets and running water. However, once she had seen his plans for the place and witnessed the work- and had her running water and flush toilet- she was completely on board with it. They still had her little house in town and they were considering keeping it as an investment, but for now if the remodeling was too messy or caused too many problems, they could stay in the Airstream for one night or multiple nights in town.

Patrick walked over and gave her another kiss on the cheek. "Thank you, sweetheart. Would you like me take Clara now so you could get another cup of coffee?"

Teresa passed their daughter over and watched as the baby cuddled in her father's arms. "Actually, I think I'm going to run in and take a shower and get dressed."

Not taking his eyes from his daughter, he said in a gentle voice, "Go ahead. We'll be fine here, won't we, lovely Clara?"

She laughed and laughed harder when he suddenly jerked his head back and sniffed. "Hmm. Looks like we're going to do a diaper change first. Do you think clever mommy planned that?"

About 20 minutes later, Teresa came out of the bedroom dressed with her hair still damp to find Patrick at the kitchen table reading something on his phone. Clara was gurgling softly in the playpen nearby.

As she poured herself her second cup of coffee, she asked what he was reading.

"Oh, just some notes that Stan sent me about my plans for the addition. He said everything looks solid but that I may have to change the bath slightly given what the inspector said the last time."

Teresa nodded and picked up her tablet. She brought up her email and noticed that she also had an email from Stan titled, "Family News."

"Stan's been a busy guy this morning. I've got an email from him, too," she said as she opened it.

"What?!" Teresa's maternal instinct allowed her to keep from shouting- but only just.

A startled Patrick couldn't tell anything from her one word exclamation. "What is it? Is something wrong?"

Teresa was shaking her head and reading but she was definitely getting excited. "Oh my God! This is wonderful!"

Patrick waited and when it appeared she was rereading the email he finally said, "Excuse me, but would you care to share?"

"Oh, sorry," she responded with a half laugh and seemed to be unable to take her eyes off her screen. "Umm. Well, we're getting a visitor."

"Who?"

"My Aunt Jeanette is coming," Teresa reported. "You'll remember I told you about her."

"Is she your father's sister who lives in England?"

Teresa's nodded. "Yes. Exactly. She was a student at Northwestern when she met a visiting professor. They fell in love, got married and moved back to England when his time was finished in Chicago."

"Does she come back much?" Patrick asked.

She shook her head. "Not much at all. I was about nine when they got married and I didn't see her again until Dad died. But she used to write us the best letters and sent wonderful presents."

Patrick smiled because Teresa was smiling, but he felt compelled to ask, "Did she know how bad your father was doing after your mother died?"

Teresa's smile turned sad. "No, she didn't."

"You never thought to ask her for help?"

Teresa took a minute to answer. "Her husband, Uncle Benedict, was very ill and she took care of him. When I would occasionally think of asking her for help, I would always rethink it because I knew she had so much on her plate already. Three boys and a teenage girl seemed a cruel burden. So when she sent us presents for the holidays, I would write the note for all of us thanking her and wishing her a good new year. Besides, Dad was her big brother. It would have been too difficult for her to know that he wasn't coping."

Patrick knew that Teresa loved her father in spite of the terrible way he treated her and her three brothers. She always said that it was his inability to accept her mother's death and alcoholism that had been the source of the problems. She had feared him and been angry with him during those dark years but more because she knew that he hadn't always been like that. Her brothers who were younger were less forgiving. Their memories of the happier times were more vague and fewer to recall. From them, he was able to fill in the picture and understand what a tremendous heart Teresa had.

"What happened when she found out?" He asked quietly.

Teresa remembered the horror on Aunt Jeanette's face. "It was at my father's wake. Stan made a joke about Dad, a little inappropriate but not terrible, and Aunt Jeanette got upset. She took me aside and asked me why Stan would say something like that. I told her the truth."

Patrick couldn't imagine the kind of shock that would have been. "That must have been devastating for her."

"It was. Add that to the fact that Uncle Benedict was very sick and it was a hard time for her. She nursed him for many years. After he died, she traveled some but still remained in England. Her trips to the U.S. have been brief and I've rarely seen her."

"But now she's coming."

Teresa looked up at him and smiled, "Yes, now she is. According to Stan, she's skipping Chicago and coming directly to see us."

Patrick, who had grown up knowing very little family, was completely fascinated by Teresa's. "When is she arriving?"

Teresa read down to the bottom of the email and gasped, "NO! Oh my God. She's arriving tomorrow!"

"Wow! Talk about last minute decisions."

Teresa glared at the screen and growled. "No, it wasn't. Apparently, Stan forgot that she had told him about this trip MONTHS ago. She emailed him to tell me because she didn't have my new email address."

She jumped out of the chair and immediate starting grabbing the breakfast dishes and putting them in the sink. She grabbed the dish soap and squeezed some into the sink and turned on the water.

"We've got to dust and sweep the floors and- oh dear- I haven't finished that flower bed. We've got to do that and I want to get the curtains up and -"

Patrick got up and put his arms around her and cut off her frantic tone. "Relax, Teresa. We're a work in progress and she'll be able to see that. Now, of course, we'll do some dusting and cleaning but the rest will be fine."

Teresa started to breathe normally and calmly started washing dishes but stopped and looked around the cabin. It was now and open floor plan living, dining, and kitchen space. Created so to make it look larger than it really was. The rest of the place currently contained a master bedroom with attached bath and Clara's bedroom.

"Patrick! Where are we going to put her?!" she asked in a stunned tone.

His mind had already gone to that question and processed it. "Don't worry. We have a solution. We'll put her up at the house in town. While you're at the office doing your paperwork tomorrow, Clara and I will make sure that it's fully stocked and ready for a guest."

Teresa was grateful that one of them wasn't in a panic but she still wasn't convinced. "Do you think it will be okay? I mean, she'll be in the house by herself at night. Alone. Granted it's better than putting her up in the Airstream but still."

Since he knew her memories of their nights in the Airstream were just as precious to her as they were to him, he wasn't going to be insulted. He rubbed her shoulder. "The house is in a good neighborhood and it's pretty quiet at night. I'm sure she'll find it very peaceful. If she doesn't like it, we can get something for her to sleep on, put her in Clara's nursery, and bring Clara in ours. And if all else fails, we'll put her at a beautiful hotel."

When he worked so hard to make her happy, she had no choice but to smile. She did so as she reached up and pulled his head down to hers and gave him a slow passionate kiss. She finally pulled away and said, "I'm so glad I married the smartest man in the room."

He started to kiss her again and stopped. He looked over and saw Clara napping in her playpen. He returned his gaze to his wife's lips and said, "Hold that thought."

She watched as he quietly got the baby monitor from Clara's room and sat it next to the playpen. Then he came back to the kitchen, grabbed her hand, and ushered her into their room, and closed the door. Making sure that the other monitor on the dresser was working he turned back to his wife and started taking off his shirt.

Eyes twinkling and hands already pulling her shirt over her head, she said, "We should be making the house look respectable."

He shrugged as he walked over and sat down on the bed pulling her to stand in front of him. "We have plenty of time to make the house respectable AFTER I make you DISrespectable."

She laughed softly as he brought his lips to the the valley between her breasts. He tasted and kissed her while helping her remove her sports bra. She reached over him and ran her hands along his upper back and shoulders, gently massaging the muscles that had definitely become larger and better formed with all the manual labor he had put into the house. He gave a deep sigh in appreciation of her efforts and brought his hands up to circle her breasts. Since their first night together, he had been thrilled to finally see them. He loved their size, smoothness, and shape. When she carried Clara and they became larger and very sensitive he was always delicate with them. Since their daughter's birth he had been in awe of her ability to nourish their child from them and now that she had stopped breastfeeding and her milk had dried, he could admit to himself that he was quite pleased that they were all his again.

As he continued to gently squeeze and fondle her breasts, he moved his lips over to her right one, first kissing around the nipple before opening his mouth wider to engulf it. He felt Teresa's hands moved into his hair and rub his scalp as he continued to worship her right breast before giving the same attention to her left.

Teresa felt her knees weakening. She reached down and pulled him away from her breasts to kiss him. As she kissed him they both worked on slipping her yoga pants and panties down her legs. She quickly stepped out of them breaking the kiss to push Patrick backward so that he was lying on his back.

She immediately began unbuckling his belt then unbuttoning and unzipping the fly of his pants. Patrick lifted himself enough to help them both slip them off, as well as his boxers. Teresa tossed his things to the side as Patrick worked his way backward up the bed. She climbed on the bed and crawled up to him and straddled him. She leaned over him and her hair, still slightly damp from her earlier shower, fell forward on each side of her face. She kissed him hard. Her tongue dancing with his, hearing a music that seemed to come from both their hearts.

When she finally released his lips, they were both breathing hard. With her hands preceding her, she continued to rain kisses and gentle nibbles down his neck, stopping briefly to lick her favorite spot just below his left ear, before she continued to cover his chest and stomach with her kisses. Her hands moved to his hips and smoothed the muscles in his thighs.

Patrick loved her touch. It was gentle and loving, but like the woman, it was also strong and sure. And the way her tongue ran over his thigh could possibly kill him one day, but he would die a happy man. As her hands and mouth seemed to find their final destination, he reached down and pulled her back up and helped her straddle him.

"No, baby, I want to be inside you today," he whispered as brought her lips to his and he let his hands again roam her body. With one hand on her hip, he used his other to find her and make sure she was ready.

There was no need to worry. Teresa wasn't ashamed to admit that whenever Patrick caressed her she melted. She accepted it and gloried in it because he was her soulmate.

As Patrick entered her he pushed them further back and up against the pillows and headboard so he could more easily reach her lips and kiss her catching the sounds she made expressing her passion.

The couple moved against each with long deep thrusts, Teresa breaking their kiss and returning to raining kisses over his neck and shoulders, as Patrick used one hand to firmly pull her hips and pelvis against him and the other to stroke her. When they could finally resist no longer, they both climaxed and Teresa collapsing over her husband's body.

After their heart rates had slowed a bit and they could move, she raised her head and looked up at her husband smiling, "I do love you, Patrick Jane."

Patrick gave her a very relaxed smile as he helped smooth her hair away from her face, "And I love you Teresa Lisbon Jane. In fact, I was thinking I might like to marry you. What do you say?"

She turned her head slightly to kiss the hand stroking her hair and answered, "I'm so happy you already asked me and I said yes."

They allowed themselves to rest for a brief spell longer before they got up and again jumped in the shower quickly- this time together- and dressed.

Patrick opened the door just as they started to hear Clara cooing quietly as she started to awaken.

The couple spent the next few hours polishing their cabin, before they declared it done. Then they loaded their daughter into her car seat and went into town to check on the house that Teresa had been buying when she first came to Austin. Patrick unlocked the door, picked up Clara's carrier and stepped inside as Teresa gathered the mail that had accumulated since they had last been here five days earlier.

As she sorted through it, Patrick walked around and opened windows to get some fresh air. They would check to make sure that the air conditioning was working, but this was the quickest way to get the stale air out. Teresa moved from room to room assessing each to see what they would need to do to make it ready for visitors.

Together they changed the bed in the master, put out fresh towels in the en suite and dusted and vacuumed the entire small house. It consisted of a living room, eat-in kitchen, three bedrooms and one and a half bathrooms. Teresa bought it because she liked it's cottage feel and as she looked at it with an objective eye, she thought it might feel more comfortable to her aunt than a hotel room.

Teresa gave Jane a shopping list for groceries and other items that would help give the place that homey feel. He decided to do part of it today and he left her there with Clara. She took the time to go more thoroughly through the stack of mail and checked to make sure that the cable and internet service was working well.

By evening, both were satisfied that the cottage would work well for Aunt Jeanette.


	3. Chapter 3

The morning of Aunt Jeanette's arrival was very hectic with Teresa going back to work and Jane going into the office for a short while as well. The couple managed to drop their daughter off at daycare for the morning and get into the FBI's Austin headquarters on time. After many hugs and well wishes, they headed into Cho's office.

"Hey, boss," Teresa said and looked at her watch seeing that it was ten minutes past the hour. "I'm sorry we're late."

Cho looked up from his work to the woman he had known for so many years. It was still strange to hear her call him boss when for so long she had been his supervisor but he had to admit that it felt good. Besides, she had made it clear that she fully supported his promotion and had no desire to be a team leader anymore.

"No problem. I saw the gauntlet you had to get through," he assured her. "Welcome back. How's my Goddaughter?"

Both parents smiled at him before Patrick said, "Beautiful and well."

Cho's face slightly smiled and he nodded. "Very good."

He opened a folder on his desk and got down to business. "Okay, Lisbon, you're going to have to spend part of your morning getting paperwork done but then I have a couple case files that I need you to read. Once you're up to speed on them, come find me and we'll talk about your assignment."

He looked at Patrick and said, "Jane, the second file is one I would like you to look over. I believe we're on the right track but I would appreciate another pair of eyes."

Teresa passed the file to Jane and turned to Cho, "If you don't have anything more for me, I'll get busy with that paperwork."

Cho nodded. "That's fine. Thank you."

Before Teresa left she turned to Patrick and said, "When you're finished with the file, could you leave it on my desk?"

"Sure," he answered with a smile. "And don't worry, I'll let you know before I leave."

She gave him an appreciative smile before leaving.

The two men turned to look at each other. Cho leaned back in his chair and assessed Patrick before he spoke. "Did you get the framing on the addition finished?"

Patrick nodded, "Yep and next week the crew is coming to enclose it and then the roofers will arrive."

"Excellent," Cho said, "So what's your plan for working here now that Lisbon is back to work?"

Patrick knew this was coming. He had told Cho that he would make some more decisions after Teresa finished her maternity leave. It was no secret that he didn't want to work for the FBI the rest of his life. However, he did want to work with his wife and she did work for the FBI and hadn't been interested in any of the more entertaining adventures - like beekeeping or sailing around the world - that he had suggested. He understood. She loved police work. It fulfilled an important need to protect those who couldn't protect themselves. It had taken him a long time to understand that it was one of the things that he loved about her. To ask her to change that was to diminish her, but he was putting together a plan that might be a win/ win for both of them.

"I think the way we've been handling it since Teresa and I married has worked pretty well. I offer you my consulting skills on a case by case basis," he said in a manner that appeared casual but Cho could tell he was nervous about it and the future.

Cho sat up and leaned forward. "Look, Jane, I don't have a problem with that. Abbott and I discussed your deal and for the most part that will work. However, the bureau will not continue to give you an unlimited expense budget if you are only here part of the time."

Jane pursed his lips and thought for a second. Financially, they were doing well. In fact, he still had to have a talk with Teresa to explain to her just how well they were, but that was for another time. He didn't want to put Cho in an awkward position so he chose not to tell him yet. However, he did think they could talk about the assets that the FBI still had and the expunging of all charges that they might want to file against him.

Jane finally responded, "Fair enough. I assume that you will cover my expenses during the time that I am working?"

Cho nodded and Jane continued, "Excellent. Now I need to know what the FBI intends to do regarding the agreement we made."

Cho had gone through a few different scenarios with Abbott and the assistant director, from Jane changing his mind completely and returning full time to Jane deciding to leave completely. This middle ground was the realistic hope that they all had and Cho was very pleased. He checked his notes and said, "The FBI has withdrawn all charges and has agreed not to bring any against you for the death of McAllister."

Jane said with a frown, "That's good for a start, but the agreement said that everyone on Lisbon's team, including her, would also have their records expunged of any charges or notes in their files. The final solution was my decision and mine alone."

Cho admired Jane's loyalty to not only Lisbon, but to all of the old CBI team. Jane didn't need to worry about them, but it was good to know that he did. "Don't worry. That part of the agreement was completed when you signed the documents that you and Abbott drew up when you first started here. We're safe, Jane."

Jane let out a sigh. "Very good. I wanted to believe that was the case, but I needed confirmation. Next item: I think the FBI has been holding on to my accounts. What's going to happen to those?"

Cho made a show of looking at his notes again, although he knew the answer, "The house in Malibu was sold shortly after you left the country. The government seized it and took the money. However, since the bank accounts you had were not in your name alone, they were frozen but not seized. Those will be returned to you."

Jane was confused but maintained his poker face. "Cho, it's been a long time since I looked into those accounts. Do you have any statements on their balances?"

Cho handed him a copy. It was an impressive amount but no where near what the man would have made during his days giving readings and making appearances. Cho had no idea what had happened to that fortune. Probably Jane had given it away to needy children and families they had met during their work at the CBI. Still, the remaining funds would probably be a nice security blanket for the family. In fact, he could probably pay off the mortgage on both of their properties and still have enough to cover Clara's college tuition.

Jane looked at the accounts that he had once used for his basic expenses. Yes, that was about what he had expected. What he hadn't expected to see was the second name on the account. He returned the document to Cho.

"Thank you."

"You know, Jane, I'm curious. How did you guys pull this off? I didn't think it was possible that you had enough time to get things changed."

Patrick only smiled and said, "I did what was necessary."

"Right," Cho said with a nod. "Well, you know how this stuff works. I'll put through the changed paperwork and we'll have something for you to sign either in a few days or a few weeks."

Jane nodded, thanked Cho, and left the office with the case file and a lot of questions. He knew the questions would have to wait for now so he made himself a cup of tea and sat down on his couch to read.

The case he was reviewing was one involving a murder in the commission of an armed robbery. The robbers had worn masks and they weren't identified through witnesses or electronic surveillance. They had found their suspects based on forensics and known associates. Among the forensics were one of the accused's fingerprints found on a bullet in a clip and a cellphone belonging to another one was pinged as being in the building at the time of the robbery.

The questions that were in the file were from Tork who had filled in for Lisbon. He wanted to know if Jane had any suggestions for interrogation and if he had any ideas on where else they could look for the stolen cash. Jane left some notes in the file and placed it on Lisbon's desk. Since she would probably be more involved with this now that she was back, she would review everything and give Tork the notes later.

He checked his watch and realized that it was getting close to noon. He had told the folks at the daycare across the street that he would pick up Clara before one o'clock but he didn't want to leave without seeing Lisbon.

As if conjured from his thoughts, the elevator dinged and the woman stepped out carrying two apples and a large sandwich. Her brow was slightly furrowed and her eyes were a bit unfocused. He could tell that she had just spent most of the morning completing forms.

She walked over to him and smiled. "I was hoping to break free from the chains that Human Resources had on me to have lunch with you, but this is the best I could do." She gestured to the food in her hands.

He stood up and smiled, "Any lunch with you is a pleasure, wife."

Her smile turned very bright. "Very well said, husband. Do you want to go out to the patio?"

He agreed and they went outside to eat. She told him about her morning and he told her about the file he had read and his notes. It was similar to other lunches they had had before her leave but they felt different now.

She was halfway through her portion of the turkey sandwich when she stopped and her shoulders sagged. Somehow he didn't think this was related to paperwork. "What's the matter? You seem a bit down. Are you tired?"

She didn't like to worry him so assured him immediately, "No, no, I feel fine. It's just that, well, I know we've put Clara in daycare before in order to do projects around the house but I just realized that you're going to pick her up and I'm going to stay here."

He decided not to mention that there was a way around this complain- that she could leave the FBI- but he didn't want to seem opportunistic. Besides, he knew she needed a professional life. He simply wanted it to be elsewhere.

"It's only a few more hours," he reassured her while rubbing her arm.

She nodded. "You're right. And if I were with her all day, I would miss work," she stopped and chuckled. "Although not today's work. Who needs that many documents to say I'm now working in the office?"

Patrick gave a short laugh in response, "Bureaucracy keeps bureaucrats happy- and off the streets."

He finished his apple and tossed the core in the trash and then turned to Teresa and reminded her, "Your aunt is arriving at 6:30. Why don't Clara and I meet you here after work and we should have enough time to get through traffic and get to the airport to pick her up?"

Teresa stood and nodded. "Sure, but make sure you get a bottle made for Clara to have at the airport. She may need it."

Patrick stood also, looked around inside, and realized that almost no one was in the bullpen so he quickly pulled Teresa into his arms for a kiss. She responded instantly not really caring if they were seen or not. For Heaven's sake! They were married and had a baby girl. It was okay to show a little affection.

When Patrick pulled back he looked at her. "Don't worry, I'll make sure we have everything we need to keep her happy."

"I know," she said as she held his hand and walked back inside, "I just can't stop myself from reminding you."

Teresa had always been a caregiver. First it was her parents, then her brothers, then her team, and now her family. It was an ingrained part of her nature and he cherished it. It also reminded him that he had something he wanted to discuss with her but this was not quite the time.

They parted and she went back to her desk to play catch up and he went to get Clara.


	4. Chapter 4

At 5:15 Patrick pulled up in front of the FBI. He waited no more than three minutes before he saw his wife walk out of the building laughing at something that Wylie was saying. He shook his head in amazement that after all these years he was still struck by what a natural beauty his wife was. He turned around and said to his daughter sitting quietly in her car seat in backseat. "Uncle Wylie and Mommy are headed this way."

Teresa opened the passenger side back door and leaned in and kissed her daughter who squealed at the attention. "My sweet, sweet, baby! Mommy has missed you so much today."

She stepped back and let Wylie look in, "Hey, there's my girl. You're looking very pretty in that yellow ensemble. Very fashionable."

Clara looked at the young man with pale blonde hair and made bubbles.

"I'm taking that as blowing kisses," Wylie stated with a laugh before he leaned in through Lisbon's window to speak to Jane.

"Hey, Jane!" He said, "Tork and I are going to take your suggestion and set up that interrogation tomorrow. Thanks, man."

"Sure, Wylie. I'm happy I could help. Let me know what happens," Jane said with a wave before Wylie stepped back and the family pulled away.

Wylie stood for a minute watching them before a gust of wind and clouds started rolling in. The air was immediately colder and he moved quickly to his car.

The drive to the airport was slow as usual. Between road construction and rush hour traffic, they arrived in short-term parking with about fifteen minutes to get Clara into the stroller and walk to the correct baggage claim area.

Teresa was wringing her hands by the time they got to the carousel. Her eyes were constantly scanning people for someone who looked familiar.

"Teresa, calm down," Patrick said gently. "The flight is only now pulling up to the gate. It will take a few minutes to de-board and a few minutes more to get to baggage claim."

She tried to breathe normally and stop watching every person that came near, but she could not stop herself. "I know you're right, but I realized today how much I want to see Aunt Jeannette. She's one of the few links I have to the rest of my family."

Keeping one hand on the stroller, he put another on her back and stroked her in soothing circles while he leaned over and put a gentle kiss to her temple. "I know, sweetheart, but you needn't worry. She'll be here soon."

A few more minutes passed. They heard the bell and suddenly luggage, boxes, and golf clubs started coming through the chute behind the carousel and filling it. Teresa's head turned to the area where passengers were starting to appear. Among them an older woman wearing brown tweed slacks, a green long-sleeved blouse, and carrying the matching tweed jacket over her arm.

Teresa quickly walked over to the woman saying, "Aunt Jeannette?!"

The woman who had been putting her passport back into her purse looked up startled and then smiled and threw her arms wide open. "TERESA! Oh, my beautiful girl!"

The two women hugged, laughed, and cried for a few minutes before they realized that people were having to maneuver around them to get into baggage claim.

Teresa looked around and said, "C'mon, Aunt Jeannette, let's get your bags and get out of here."

The older woman, with her arm around the petite younger one, replied, "That sounds delightful, my dear."

They walked over to the carousel and Jeannette became aware of the handsome blonde man standing with the stroller watching them. She was struck by not only the good looks of the man, but also the face that seemed to have seen the best and worst of humanity and still had warm eyes.

"Oh my God! I completely abandoned them!" Teresa said with embarrassment before completing the introductions. "Aunt Jeannette, this is my husband Patrick Jane. Patrick, this in my Aunt Jeannette Smyth-Worthy."

Patrick was thrilled to meet anyone who could make Teresa laugh and cry with so much joy all at the same time. He took her hand in one of his but still pulled her into a half embrace. "Mrs. Smyth-Worthy, it's good to meet you. Teresa has told me how much she's been looking forward to seeing you again."

Oh, he is a charming devil, Jeannette thought even as she let herself be drawn into the glow of his smile. "Patrick, I'm so happy to meet you, and please, Aunt Jeannette will be fine. Mrs. Smyth-Worthy was my mother-in-law."

She continued in a teasingly confidential style, "Now there was a woman who made one constantly feel like curtsying."

Teresa was pleased with how well it was going so far. She hadn't told Patrick, but Aunt Jeannette had heard of him. She had contacted Teresa after the CBI was disbanded because the story had made national news and Jeannette kept up on that much at least, and she worried about her too brave niece. What she knew from the reports had left her with mixed feelings that she hadn't expressed but Teresa knew were there.

Jeannette looked down and realized that Patrick was pushing a stroller. She intellectually knew about the baby but she hadn't realized that she was here. She gasped and stepped to the front and said, "Oh my goodness! And who is this precious person?"

Teresa and Patrick exchanged proud smiles as their daughter made her little noises. "Aunt Jeannette, this is our daughter Clara Marie Jane."

As Teresa spoke the baby girl looked up at the older woman leaning in and their eyes met. Jane, the complete skeptic, would never tell anyone but he would admit to himself that he could feel the electricity run through the stroller's handle as their gazes locked. Child and woman instantly bonded and both knew that they would be lifelong friends.

"Ohhh, aren't you a clever girl to decide to take these two as your parents. Hello, Clara. I'm your Aunt Jeannette," she said in a quiet voice as Clara gave her a toothless grin.

Jeannette couldn't take her eyes from the child. She was amazed at the wisdom and wonder in her eyes. This wasn't the first family baby she had met. She loved her niece and nephews and their children, but she would later admit that Clara stopped her in her tracks.

Teresa and Patrick understood what was happening. They, too, loved this little girl who so far had been a dream to care for. She rarely cried and when she did it was for a purpose and not for attention. She seemed to understand her parents moods and tried to act accordingly. While both would insist that there was no such thing as psychics, they would both admit that their daughter showed extreme intuitiveness from the moment of her birth.

Teresa noticed that the area was clearing out and decided that everyone was probably wanting to leave the airport. "Well, we should get your luggage and get out of here. Aunt Jeannette, could you point out your bags?"

"What? Oh yes," Jeannette said and stood back up. "It's the purple set, two bags."

"Please, allow me," Patrick said and when the bags came around he pulled them off. They were heavier than he would have expected but both were on rollers.

He started pulling them and Teresa pushed the stroller and they headed to the parking lot. They had settled the usual questions about the flight and the weather on the walk to the car. Teresa strapped Clara into her car seat while Patrick put the luggage in the trunk. As they left the parking lot, Teresa turned to the back where Jeannette alternated between looking at Clara and at the scenery. "Are you hungry? I know that domestic flights no longer serve much."

Jeannette smiled, "In first class, they're a little nicer, but yes I am feeling hungry."

"Great. Patrick and I thought we would take you to a quiet place we know," Teresa explained.

"That's fine, my dear," Jeannette nodded, "Is it near the Belmont Inn? I made reservations there. It's said to be a nice hotel."

"Well, actually, we know a very nice place that we thought might suit you, Aunt Jeannette, and we have you set up there," Patrick said while looking in the rear view mirror at the woman sitting behind him.

"Oh? Well, that's fine," she said and started digging out her cellphone. "Let me just cancel this reservation."

The couple in the front seat was quiet as she called the hotel and said that she would not be able to make her reservation. After a few minutes of haggling over a late cancellation fee, Jeannette ended the call with a victorious smile.

Teresa said little for a moment after this. She knew her aunt had worked in and later owned her own bookstore and rare book locating business. At a time when the market for that type of store and service were dwindling, she had continued to survive simply by being very good at what she did and creating an incredibly loyal customer base. This was one of the rare moments when Teresa saw that all business side of her favorite aunt.

Patrick was becoming more impressed with this woman by the minute and could see aspects of his wife's character in her. "Aunt Jeannette, have you ever been to Texas before?"

Jeannette shook her head, "No, I've been to most major cities in the north and, of course, out west to visit Teresa, but I've never had a reason to come here before. I can't wait to do a bit of exploring. That reminds me. I would like to rent a car while I'm here. The best way to get to know a place is to roam aimlessly around it. At least, that's what my husband always said."

Teresa frowned for a second and said, "We can take you to an agency tomorrow."

"Perfect," Jeannette said and continued addressing both of them, "Now I know that you're both busy with work and I don't want you to feel that you have to entertain me every moment of the day. I really am looking forward to spending some time quietly on my own, or" she stopped and smiled at the little one falling asleep next to her, "getting to know this precious bundle as much as I want to spend time with you."

Teresa smiled and said sheepishly, "Well, I'm glad you feel that way because it was going to be hard for me to take time from work. Today was my first day back from maternity leave and I think my boss, nice though he is, would frown at my immediately going on vacation."

Jeannette's eyes narrowed slightly and she tilted her head, "I'm guessing that Stan forgot to tell you about my visit until when? A few days ago?"

Teresa grimaced but went ahead and threw her forgetful brother under the bus, "Wel-l-l-l, more like yesterday."

Her aunt's eyes went wide. "Yesterday?! Oh my goodness, Teresa, I'm so sorry. This must have been a terrible thing to have thrown at you when you're trying to get back to work."

Teresa vehemently shook her head, "No, no, no, I was thrilled to get the news. I'm very happy you're here. I've missed you so much."

Teresa reached between the seats and laid her hand on her aunt's knee. Her aunt put her hand over Teresa's. "I've missed you, too, sweet one."

Patrick had pulled off the interstate and it was obvious that the neighborhood they were in now was residential with well-appointed homes that while not large or grand felt loved and cared for. He pulled into a driveway and stopped the car. "Here we are: The Jane Bed & Breakfast"

Jeannette frowned, "I thought Stan told me that you were living in a cabin."

Teresa had jumped out of the car and opened the back door to get Clara and Patrick had opened the back door on his side to help out Jeannette. "We do, but this is the house that Teresa bought, well that she has the mortgage on, when she moved to Austin. We've held onto it and when the first portion of the renovation was occurring, we stayed here on bad nights. Now we don't have to, but we haven't decided what we're going to do with it."

He took her arm and they joined Teresa on the front porch. She pulled out the keys, unlocked the door, and led the way inside. Patrick had definitely finished getting the place ready this afternoon. She could smell something delicious coming from the kitchen and in the living room there were fresh flowers.

Jeannette walked in and understood why Teresa living on her own would have found this home charming. It had a cottage feel about it that made it seem like a place you had been in all your life. The furniture she had chosen was simple and well suited to a relaxed lifestyle that would be a complete escape from the type of job she was in all day.

While Patrick went back out to the car to bring in the baby's carry-all and Jeannette's luggage, Teresa gave her aunt the tour ending in the eat-in kitchen where they found the table set for three and a portable bassinet next to it.

Teresa was watching her aunt closely to see her reaction and was nervous when Jeannette started to shake her head. "If you don't think you'll be comfortable here, we can put you up at another hotel. It's just that the addition isn't on yet at the cabin and it would be a little small and-"

"Oh, sweet one, no, this is so lovely. I can't get over how at home I feel here. Oh this is perfect!" she said and gave her niece a hug.

Teresa was relieved. She had worried that her aunt would feel that they were shunning her and she would never forgive herself if she were unhappy.

"Oh good!" Teresa let out a big sigh. "I was hoping you would like it as much as I did the first time I saw it."

Jeannette smiled as she looked around. "Yes, this will suit me well."

Patrick walked out to the kitchen as the two women were opening the oven and lifting the lid off the crockpot.

"Patrick, this all smells and looks delicious," Teresa said with a smile. "I knew I could count on you to come up with something great."

He returned her smile with one of his own saying, "Thank you, my love. I thought if Aunt Jeannette had been traveling all day and you had been trying to get back into the routine of the office again, comfort food might be the order of the day."

The three adults sat down to a meal of pot roast, glazed carrots, mashed potatoes, and rolls with orange sorbet for dessert that Teresa insisted was just as good as orange blossom ice cream. They shared a slightly edited version of their trip to Beirut with Aunt Jeannette leaving out the waterboarding, threats, guns, and certain temptations that had been available.

Jeannette laughed but knew that there was more that the couple had decided that an aunt shouldn't know. That was fine. She wasn't too old to remember that there were things that she had left out of her stories to her family. Like when she and Benedict had celebrated his teaching award…

Patrick saw her distant smile and knew that they had triggered a memory for her but obviously it wasn't a bad one so he didn't question her. Instead, he continued to give Clara her bottle while Teresa cleared the table and worked on cleaning the kitchen. Jeannette insisted on helping. "Look, if I'm the one staying here, I need to know where things go and how things work, so why not start as I mean to go on."

The two women finished and Jeannette made them a pot of tea to take into the living room. Teresa took Clara from Patrick and put her baby to her shoulder to burp her while Jeannette poured Patrick a cup of tea.

"Thank you," he said as he took the cup and sipped the brew. "Mmm. Aunt Jeannette, you are obviously a very civilized woman because this is an excellent cuppa."

Jeannette's quiet laugh reminded him of Teresa's. "Well, Patrick, I have lived for many years among the most formidable connoisseurs of the substance. I have never been able to stand anything but a good British tea."

"Well, I look forward to having more with you," he responded.

After another hour, the couple decided that they should get home so that they could give Clara a bath and put her to bed. Patrick told Jeannette that he and Clara would pick her up tomorrow to go to the car rental agency. They made sure that she had all the cell phone numbers and the number for the FBI before they hugged and said goodnight.

Jeannette watched them leave and then shut the door and locked it. She looked around the house and smiled to herself. This was may be just what she needed. Yes, she was already feeling like she was in the place she was supposed to be.


	5. Chapter 5

The snow was falling outside the shack. The Minnesota winter had not quite given up yet but the woman on the bed had. She had gurgled her last breath a few hours ago. The man carefully cleaning the wall hummed to himself as he worked. He was a little disappointed that she hadn't been more entertaining but he supposed you couldn't have everything. She had given him the information he needed quicker than he had expected, but that just meant that this time he wasn't leaving any body fluids. Bonus!

Soon he finished and thought to himself, "One step closer," as he shut the door and stepped back out into the night.

Chief David Duncan looked around the crime scene and was shocked at the brutality. He had come to Freklinger Minnesota because he wanted a slower pace and fewer crimes. As a lead homicide detective in Seattle and an instructor in crime scene investigation, he had seen and studied all types of unnatural acts and cruelty but this one in the middle of such a peaceful town seemed worse than anything he had witnessed before. The petite brunette in the bed, surrounded by bedding but with none covering her nude body, seemed pathetically small. Her brown eyes still revealed the shock of her demise.

David watched the coroner give instructions to remove the body and have it placed on a stretcher before he approached him for information. "Dr. Baxton, do you have a time of death for the victim?"

Baxton who had been called in from the next county turned to the chief and replied, "As near as I can tell right now, she's probably been dead about a week. And yes, initial cause of death looks like she bled out from the stab wounds she received. I'll be able to tell you more in a couple days."

"Thanks, doctor," David said and watched as the body was removed.

He looked at the forensic team that he had called in from St. Paul and said to the woman who seemed to be giving directions to the other technicians, "I'm sorry, but I didn't catch your name."

"You were busy with the coroner when I we got here. I'm Lisa Mornstring. I'm the team leader for Unit 2," she explained.

"I'm Chief Duncan. What can you tell me about the scene?"

"The perp cleaned up. There's very little blood splatter. He even stopped to take a shower and then washed down the bathroom and so far we've found absolutely no prints. The coroner will have the final say, but there are no body fluids here."

She stopped and the chief looked at her, "Do we have an I.D.?"

Lisa shook her head. "No we'll have to run prints when we get back to the lab. We can't get a signal to work to run the handheld print scanner."

Chief Duncan sighed, "Okay, well, let me know ASAP."

Lisa was nodding to this when a forensic assistant said, "Hey, this is weird."

"What is it?" The chief asked as he and Lisa turned towards the young man.

"I think there was something in blood on this wall that was wiped off," he said as he brought out a can of luminal and a flashlight with a black light.

Lisa frowned as she looked at where the tech stood in relation to where the body was found. "That doesn't make sense. The body doesn't appear to have been moved so why would spatter be there?"

The tech sprayed an area, waited a few seconds, and then used the light to show the glow where blood had once been.

"That's not spatter," Lisa said slowly as she turned to her technician and continued, "Chad, spray a larger area. It looks like it went further than that."

Chief Duncan and FS Mornstring were both stunned by what was revealed. Finally, Lisa said, "Is that some sort of smiley face?"

Duncan pulled himself together. "FS Mornstring, make sure you get as many photographs as you can of that- and from every possible angle."

Lisa could see that Duncan was shocked by what the light had revealed. "Chief Duncan, what is it? If my team knows more, we can work faster."

Frowning he looked at her and asked, "Are you familiar with a serial killer known as Red John?"

Lisa processed the name quickly. Her eyes widened as she looked back at the wall then back at Duncan. "Yes, sir, but isn't he dead? I thought he was killed a few years ago."

Duncan nodded, "He was."

Lisa tilted her head tried to figure out what he was thinking. "Is this a copycat?"

When Duncan was out in Seattle he had studied the case in great detail. There had always been a fear that Red John would grow bored with California and head north and he and his team were not going to be caught flat footed. The final solution of the case had actually come as a relief and he had secretly raised a toast to the man that had stopped the monster.

Duncan looked at the scene and decided to go with his gut, "Yes. Yes, it is. Red John was killed over three years ago. This is a taunt. But why?"

"Cheap thrills? Someone who wants to be like him? Someone wanting to make a name for himself?" Lisa pulled suggestions out of the air.

"Yeah, those are all good thoughts, but I don't think that's it. If he was looking for fame, why pick a remote rural area like this?" And why make the face and then wipe it off?" He shook his head. "No something else is at work here and we're going to need to figure that out."

Lisa nodded. "The team will go through everything, Chief Duncan."

"I'll be waiting for that report," he responded as he pulled his gloves back on and headed out into the cold.

The man in the hooded sweatshirt and coat sat in a car camouflaged by pine trees two fields over and watched through binoculars as the local law enforcement people working the crime scene. He laughed quietly when he witnessed the officer slide on the ice and almost land on his tailbone. With a satisfied sigh, he put down the glasses and got his notebook back out.

"Let's see. It looks like I'm off to visit someone in... " he stopped and looked closer at the page. "Indiana. I wonder what Hoosier women are like?"

He started the beat up 1991 Buick Regal and headed out of the area. He would sell the car to a junkyard in Illinois and pick up another car there. He had no doubt that a really good investigator could eventually find his trail but since neither of them knew what was going on, he wasn't worried.

"But don't worry, I will get to Texas in good time," he said with eyes practically glowing with excitement. "I can't wait to see you both again."

He realized he had gotten himself overly excited with the thoughts of what would happen when they all met again and had to pull off to the side of the road to take care of his overly stimulated organ. When he was back on the road he reminded himself that he had to exercise caution and discipline if he was going to win this game.

Jane and Clara arrived at the cottage to pick up Aunt Jeannette and found her in the front yard standing by the side fence talking to a neighbor. He smiled when he saw how relaxed and at home she seemed to be.

He walked up to the two women, both in their mid to late 60s, but otherwise with little outwardly in common. Whereas Jeannette was a similar older version of his wife- petite with salt and pepper hair that she wore in a bun, the other lady was tall, boisterous, and clearly dyed her hair a shade of red that was found nowhere in nature.

The two women stopped speaking as he came over carrying Clara in her car seat. "Good morning, ladies," he began. "Aunt Jeannette, I see you're getting to know the neighbors here."

Jeannette had turned to greet Clara but smiled as she leaned back and said to her new favorite nephew, "Good morning. Yes, Mrs. Barnard has been explaining to me about the age of the neighborhood and all the wonderful unknown areas to shop. I can't wait to explore."

Jane had met and charmed Myrtis Barnard a number of times. In fact, the times when he had needed a place to park the Airstream she had kindly let him pull it to the back across half of her portion of the alley easement to the back. He smiled fondly at her and said, "Well, Mrs. Barnard is an exceptional woman and I'm sure you'll find anything you could want with her help. How are you, Mrs. Barnard?"

"Why I'm just fine, Patrick! Hey, thank your wife for me, will ya? Her aunt staying next door is going to be fun," she said with a wide grin and a wink toward Jeannette. "I think we'll have big plans."

Jeannette laughed but stood up from where she had been talking to Clara and said, "I'm afraid right now we'll need to leave, Myrtis. Patrick is going to help me find a place to rent a car."

The group exchanged farewells and after Patrick secured Clara in the backseat, he and Jeannette drove away not seeing Myrtis smile and shake her head. "She's going to have to tell them. I don't know what she's worried about."

In the car, Jeannette was busy taking in all the sights and trying to absorb the street names as she went. She planned to rent a car with GPS but she still wanted to be able to know where she was at in this new city.

After a few minutes Patrick spoke, "Did you have a good night? Teresa was worried about you being alone in a strange house."

Jeannette turned to view the profile of this man who she felt could best be described as beautifully complicated. "Once I unwound a bit from all the travel, I was fine. Teresa always worries too much."

Patrick nodded with a soft smile, "That she does. It's because she cares so much about the people in her life."

Jeannette chuckled and said, "True."

Patrick took the next ten minutes to ask Jeannette a few curiosity questions about her life in England and her work. He was intrigued by the type of searches she did for old and rare books for her clients. It sounded a bit like detective work.

Having said this, she responded, "While I don't know the intricate ways that you and Teresa work, I think you're right. You know what you want and you follow all the leads you have in order to find it. I enjoy the hunt as much as selling the book- if not more."

They had arrived at the rental agency. After Aunt Jeannette had the keys to a small sedan, Patrick and Clara went back to their car and Jeanette went to hers. As Patrick left, he watched in the rear view mirror to make sure she was following him so he could lead her to the FBI office where they were meeting Lisbon for lunch.

Jeannette liked the people Teresa worked with. She knew Kimball Cho had worked for Teresa at the CBI and had been curious to see what the dynamic was like between two people who had reversed roles. Apparently, it was good for both of them because they communicated well. She also thought Wylie was absolutely wonderful although she could tell that he had been hurt. Still, she could tell he was the type of young man who wouldn't become bitter or cynical.

As she sat on Patrick's sofa talking to the baby in the carrier beside her, she observed Clara's parents in what Jeannette thought of as their normal habitat. She watched as Teresa quietly briefed Patrick on a case and talked about suspects. He listened to everything she said and seemed to weigh and judge the facts quickly before offering his opinion. Teresa questioned and they debated back and forth before they finally agreed on two top suspects.

"I'll tell Cho to make sure there are teams at both locations and we'll see which one pops," Teresa said with a sigh as she finished the email and logged off her computer.

"Great," Patrick responded before he got up and went in search of Wylie to get some answers regarding the wiretap transcriptions.

Teresa got up, came over to the couch, and reached down to pick up Clara who was cooing quietly as usual. Mother and daughter exchanged a grin as she bent down and picked up her daughter. "And how is Mommy's favorite little girl this morning? Were you a good girl for Daddy and Aunt Jeannette?"

She received a few indeterminate sounds in response that she deemed satisfactory and continued to sway side to side as she talked to the baby. Turning to her aunt, Teresa asked, "Were you able to get the rental car you wanted?"

"Yes. As a matter of fact, I simply followed Patrick here today so if the two of you need to get some work done after lunch, you could put Clara's car seat in my car and I could watch her for the afternoon," Jeannette suggested. Not only was she enchanted by her new great-niece, but also intrigued and smitten by the obvious love story going on between her Clara's parents. Anything that she could do to help them she was happy to try. Besides, if things worked out the way she planned, she wanted to be able to spend a lot of time helping them.

"Oh, Aunt Jeannette, I couldn't do that to you on your first day here," Teresa responded. She didn't want her aunt to think that the only reason they were happy she was there was to act as a nanny. However, she saw the slight hurt on her face so amended her statement. "Not that I won't take you up on this offer in a few days. If we need Patrick in the office more this week it would be nice to know that Clara is with family."

Jeannette's faced cleared and she understood. Her niece was sweet woman who refused to take advantage of anyone. "Very well, but please consider this a standing offer."

Teresa smiled, "You may come to regret this, but I definitely will keep the offer in mind."

"What offer is that?" Patrick asked as he approached them.

Teresa explained what Jeannette had said and Patrick turned to her and said, "Ahh, you've fallen under our little girl's spell, too."

Jeannette laughed and they started gathering everything to go to lunch. As they were approaching the elevator, Cho came out of his office and stopped them. "Jane, Lisbon, I'm sorry but something just came up and I need to speak to you both."

"Now?" Teresa asked skeptically as she and Patrick exchanged glances.

Cho looked at both of them, at Clara and Jeannette before he continued, "Yes, I just got something that I think you two need to see."

Teresa turned to her aunt saying, "I'm sorry, Aunt Jeannette, but I guess I'm going to have to take you up on that offer after all."

Jeannette reached out and took the baby carrier from Jane as well as the diaper bag. "Why don't I ask Wylie to help me get the car seat out of your car and into mine. Later, you two can come over and we'll have dinner together."

Teresa sighed and Patrick nodded, "Thank you, Jeannette; that sounds good."

Having heard his name in the conversation, Wylie came over, took the car keys from Jane, and helped Jeannette get Clara into the car to take back to the cottage. When he got back to his desk, he noticed Cho had closed his office door and blinds.

"This can't be good," he muttered to himself as he logged back in.


	6. Chapter 6

**Hi folks! I just want to give a quick and sincere shout out to those of you who pointed out a couple naming mistakes I made in the first few chapters. My face is a little red from that but I'm oh so glad that I was told before matters continued.**

 **Anyway, thanks for the feedback. You are all appreciated!**

 **Cheers! ~~ Archijenn**

Chapter 6

Maybe he should have killed the sheriff's wife. Maybe that would have gotten his attention. Luckily, the deputy was smart enough to try and put together an evidence kit or his efforts would have been completely wasted. As it was, the bitch had turned out to have very little to give him. Still, it did allow him to hone his skills, he thought as he crossed the border and started into Iowa. Backtracking was annoying, but it couldn't be helped. Everything needed to be in place before he got to Texas.

Deputy Calvin Sutton looked at the crime photos again. This had been a brutal murder. In all his years of service here and in the army, he had never seen anything this awful. Of course, in the area around Daviess County Indiana nothing like this usually happened. In fact, he doubted if anything like had EVER happened before. The sheriff insisted it was "druggies" who came off the interstate and got lost. "They came across Becky and they killed her. They're long gone now and nothing we can do."

Calvin looked at the picture of Becky. She seemed to be frozen in an eternal state of surprise. It was as if she had not expected an attack but instead a loving gesture. Her lingerie indicated that she was meeting a lover not a fiend. Calvin had known the horrors of war. He knew what men and women looked like when they did not expect to die. Becky Miller had not expected to die.

He had met Becky a few times at events in the area. A rural county like this, you were bound to meet everyone at some point. He remembered seeing her at the courthouse. She was loading some boxes into a van and teasing the woman who was the judge's administrative assistant. They were laughing so much that they couldn't move the boxes and he stepped in to give them a hand. More giggling ensued and he had the distinct pleasure of having two twentysomethings flirting with him at the same time. Of course, that's all it was since he was happily married, but the two ladies had given him a smile that had lasted the rest of the day.

Calvin decided that he would do a bit of investigating on his own and see where it led. Sure, it was most likely a stranger but it never hurt to build a file for the future. He made notes regarding next of kin, workplace, and anything in her purse that would tell a story of where she had been in the immediate time frame before her death. He found receipts for gas, a fast food salad, and for items at a drugstore. Interestingly enough, one was of the items was condoms. He checked and there was indeed an unopened box in her purse.

"Obviously, she expected to have a very good evening," he muttered to himself. He looked further and got the impression that there must have been a new boyfriend because she had also bought a home waxing kit, lipstick, and nail polish. He looked back at the photos and confirmed that her nails were polished and she was wearing lipstick. He would assume that her legs were smooth.

Calvin finished going through the files, photos, and evidence, got his jacket and walked into the sheriff's office.

Sheriff Ray Gilby sat at his desk working the sudoku in the daily paper. He was confident he could complete this one since the difficulty factor was only a one. He had been working on it for four hours. He looked up when his deputy tapped on the door and stepped in.

"Excuse me, sir, but I thought I would go interview a few people who knew Becky Miller. I know you're probably right about the murderer being a stranger who's left the area, but I want to make one pass at this to make sure," Calvin explained in a subordinate tone.

Gilby was a bit annoyed at his deputy's persistence. He didn't know why the young man couldn't just enjoy having a quiet job but as long as Calvin made him look good he would let it go. He shrugged, "If that's how you want to spend the rest of your day, it's fine with me. Just don't upset the family."

Calvin knew that Gilby couldn't understand his need to complete his duties. Gilby was a good 'ol boy who saw being sheriff as the ultimate career and planned to do nothing to rock the boat until it was time to retire. Gilby hadn't served in the military like Calvin had. He hadn't seen the things that Calvin had seen. Calvin knew that there were such things as good deaths and bad deaths. Good deaths you honored and bad deaths you punished the murderers. It was important to know why someone was taken and Calvin hoped to find out anything that would help the community understand this death.

From Becky's parents he found out that they suspected that their daughter had met someone a couple weeks ago. "She was humming and singing a lot," her mother said in a sad hushed tone. "She only did that when she was falling in love."

"Do you know who it was?" Calvin asked.

They shook their heads. Mrs. Miller finally said, "She didn't say. I got the impression that he wasn't someone from around here or that we would have approved of him."

"Was that something that had happened before? Did she date men you didn't like?"

Mr. Miller continued to stare at the floor and Mrs. Miller again said, "No, we knew or eventually knew all the boys she dated. Some we weren't crazy about, but there were none that I would have thought capable of- "

She stopped and dropped her face into her hands. Calvin knew he had only a little more time with them before it would finally be too much so he asked, "Did you ever see this man? Do you think any of her friends met him?"

Mrs. Miller looked up at him with a bland expression for a moment before she suggested Becky's best friend Leanne Falls.

Calvin thanked them for their time and left the family to grieve alone. He knew Leanne Falls by sight and chatted with her on an elevator a few times. She worked as a file clerk at the courthouse so Calvin drove there to chat with her.

From Leanne he discovered that Becky was indeed seeing someone who was a stranger to the area. "We were at that Jeb's Place out on the old highway. I got sent a gift card for free drinks so we decided to go."

"Do you know who sent it to you?" Calvin asked.

Leanne frowned and shook her head, "No, it was just one of those things you get in the mail."

"So what happened at the bar?"

Leanne looked a little embarrassed, "Well, he was just coming up to introduce himself when my drink started hitting me wrong so I had to run to the bathroom. When I got back, Becky was dancing with him. When they finished, he went to the men's room and Becky told me I should go home because I didn't look very good. She said he would give her a ride home. I was really feeling bad so I didn't argue too much."

"Did she tell you the guy's name?"

"Umm, now that you ask, I don't think I ever knew his name. She just said he was amazing and wonderful. That's it. She called him 'My Mr. Wonderful.' She did that with guys," Leanne explained as her eyes started to well up with tears.

"Could you describe what he looks like? Maybe we could get a sketch of the guy?" Calvin was grasping at straws. Security cameras were not something Jeb's Place was known for so he knew getting an I.D. that way was going to be near impossible.

Leanne shook her head again. "I'm afraid not, Calvin. I only ever got quick glimpses of him."

"Anything stick with you? A tattoo? Scar? Hair color?"

Leanne thought hard. "His hair was blonde but you could see dark roots. He was tall. Oh, and I think he might have had a scar on his left cheek."

Calvin made note of this before he asked another question. "What about his car or where he lived?"

The young woman continued to concentrate. Helping the deputy made her feel like she was actually doing something to help her friend. "I have no idea where he was staying and I don't know a lot about cars but I think it was tan and had four doors, you know, a sedan."

"Did you see the license plate?"

"If you mean did I get the number, no, but I did notice that it was a Kentucky plate."

He thanked her and told her to be careful, paid their bill for the coffee, and saw her walk back to the courthouse. He next he went back to the office and typed up everything he had found. He then went into the sheriff's office to give a report.

Sheriff Gilby listened patiently and read the deputy's notes. "Well, we can add this to the file but I think this proves my point. The killer is long gone out of our jurisdiction so there's nothing much we can do."

Deputy Sutton hated to admit it but the Gilby was probably right. "Yes sir, I'll file this away. Thank you for letting me do some work on it."

Sheriff Gilby might not be much of a thinker, but he was not a mean or unkind man. He understood that Calvin was ambitious, smart, and conscientious. Those were qualities to praise. Unfortunately, it also meant that in a few years he would be looking for another deputy because Calvin Sutton would get bored. He sighed and decided not to get in the young man's way.

As Calvin was leaving the office, Gilby stopped him by saying, "Oh, by the way, your application to go to that forensics conference in Kansas City was approved. We'll pay for your lodging, food, and gas money if you decide to drive."

Calvin was pleased. He knew that there was money because Gilby never spent the expense fund, but he hadn't been sure that they would let him go since the entire department for the county consisted of Sheriff Gilby and three deputies. Going to Kansas City for a few days dropped the staff by twenty-five percent.

"Thanks, sheriff, I appreciate this," he said sincerely.

The sheriff nodded and went back to the word jumble having given up on the Sudoku hours ago.

At his desk, Calvin looked at the Becky Miller files and decided to take them with him. If nothing else, it would give him something to point to as work he was doing.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

"The victim's name is Tiffany Edwards. She was a bank teller," Cho explained as he handed Jane and Lisbon crime scene photographs. "She was found in a shack outside Freklinger Minnesota. The tip was called in anonymously. She had been dead about a week."

"Pretty bad, but why are you telling us about this? Are we being called in to assist?" The FBI assisted in local murder cases where asked, but Teresa thought surely they would call a nearer office for that. Besides, these pictures had made her skin crawl and had brought back a flood of bad memories. She couldn't say why, but they reminded her too much of others she had scene in California during the Red John hunt.

Jane had said nothing. He had looked closely at the photographs and although Cho hadn't passed around all of them yet, Jane had a feeling he knew what he was going to say.

Cho reached into the file and pulled out the last photograph showing the wall next to the victim. "The local police chief, David Duncan, used to work homicide in Seattle and trained the serial crimes division of their force. When he saw this and the coroner reported that the cause of death was multiple lacerations from a linoleum knife, he did some research and decided that we should be aware of it."

Lisbon stared at the image. It was clear that Luminal had exposed a smiley face drawn in blood and then wiped away. She didn't speak but shook her head in both denial and fear. She looked to Jane as he pulled the photo from her hand to get a closer look. She watched his face take on a stony appearance and his eyes briefly closed. She reached out, took his hand and squeezed. He seemed to come back from whatever cold place he was going and he squeezed back.

"What does this Chief Duncan want from us?" Jane asked in a somewhat graveled tone.

Cho shrugged. "Not much really. He wanted to know if we knew of any other copycats or of anyone who want to resurrect this M.O. Is it possible that there is still a Blake Society member out there wanting to carry on McAllister's work?"

Jane looked through the photographs again before speaking. "No. I don't believe the Society was as involved in that side of McAllister's life as his disciples- the troubled souls that bought that crap about there not being light without darkness."

"Could it be a disciple?" Cho asked.

Jane shrugged. "It's possible but I wouldn't think one of them would wipe the wall off. More likely it's someone wanting to use the gesture and revamp it for his own."

Lisbon had listened to everything Jane said before standing up and declaring, "In that case, the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit should be the ones Chief Duncan contacts. They'll be better suited to advise him."

Cho had no desire to go back down the rabbit hole either. Climbing out had been too hard and taken its toll. "I agree. However, I thought it was important that I keep you two in the loop on this. If I hear anything that I think you should know, I'll tell you."

Jane took a cleansing breath and stood, too. "Fine. If there's nothing else, we should meet up with Aunt Jeannette and Clara."

Cho watched the couple leave and felt a sense of guilt for having to tell them about this. They had struggled for a long time to move on from those painful times. A reminder of the past was not what they needed now. Still, if more came of this and they had to play catch up later, it would not be any better.

As they reached Teresa's car, she tossed the keys to Patrick saying, "Why don't you drive? It's been a long day."

He caught the keys, unlocked the doors and they got in. Teresa was trying to hide how shaken the glowing face had made her and she suspected that Patrick was doing the same. She was therefore surprised when after putting the key in the ignition, he stopped, reached over and grabbed her. Over the center console and gearshift, he gave her a deep passionate kiss that for the time being obliterated all other thoughts from her mind.

When he finally pulled back enough to look into her eyes, he held her face in his hands and said in a quiet steely voice, "I love you, Teresa Lisbon Jane. I don't give a damn about serial killers who want to replay the past. All I care about is you, Clara, and our life together. Do you understand me?"

She nodded and he continued, "If we are forced into this mess, we go into it together. I will not let myself get into a spot where I have to leave you again. I will not lose you. Is that clear?"

She nodded again and as he dropped his hands and started to turn back to start the car she grabbed his collar and said, "And don't you forget we're best when we're partners. Whatever has to be decided, we decide together."

Jane nodded, took her hands from his collar, and kissed each one of them. He smiled softly and said, "Now let's go spend the evening with our family."

They called Aunt Jeannette to see what she wanted for dinner and she suggested that she meet them at the cabin since she had Clara and it would be easier than driving to a number of destinations. "Myrtis told me about this great Tsai takeout near here. Clara and I will pick up a few things and I'll meet you there. Just give me that address for the GPS and any dislikes for the menu."

They met at the cabin and Teresa sat in a rocker, whispering quietly to Clara as she gave the baby a bottle, while Jane showed Aunt Jeannette around their home and explained plans for the addition and ideas he had for the exterior.

As Teresa burped the baby and put her down in her playpen next to the dining table, the adults arranged a table and sat down to eat.

Jeannette could tell that the parents were a bit disturbed by whatever Cho had told them and made a point of talking to them about anything but the FBI. "Patrick, I think you've done a great job so far with this place and I love the ideas you have. I can't imagine this being an abandoned shack so recently."

"Thank you, Aunt Jeannette. When I bought the place, I did so because I loved the land it was on and I hoped I could do something with it. It's turning out better than I had hoped. Of course, it helps to have brothers-in-law who are professionals in fields you need," Jane said with a grin.

Teresa piped in, "Well, they helped by giving you information and advice, but this cabin definitely reflects your personality and our style."

Patrick responded, "Thank you, love, but when it comes to rerouting plumbing, determining where to install a load bearing beam, and how to electrify a house, we would be sitting in a dark room of a shack with a port-o-potty behind it without them."

Jeannette smiled at them both before asking, "And who chose the colors? The soft teals, grays, and blues are so relaxing. I also really like these soft leather pieces. They remind me of the couch I saw at your office."

Teresa smiled, "Thank you. I chose the colors and most of the pieces. It's amazing what forced bed rest allows you to do."

At Jeannette's questioning look, she continued, "The last couple months I was on bed rest and I was driving my husband crazy because I was bored. I had made quick decisions about the furnishings and colors a few months before that he wasn't that excited about so the very clever man came in with my laptop, descriptions and pictures of what I had picked, and asked me one last time if I was sure."

Teresa reached over to Patrick and stroked his arm in affection, "He knew that between my hormones and boredom I would rework everything and we went from beige and drab to this. And I agree, Aunt Jeannette, it turned out well."

Teresa and Jeannette cleared the table and put away the leftovers as Patrick took Clara and got her ready for bed. Once done, the women heard the hushed sounds of Patrick's voice as he talked to his little girl and prepared her for sleep and they decided to continue to talk outside on the porch.

It was a beautiful starry night and the temperature was just right to sit and listen to the crickets and frogs. Teresa relaxed in one of the rockers while Jeannette slowly swayed back and forth on the swing.

She turned to her niece and smiled, "I remember visiting you a few years ago out in Sacramento and I can't believe you're the same woman. Then, you seemed so worried and anxious the entire time. I was ready to tell you to get away from this man and his quest before it destroyed you. But now? You did it. You traveled through the darkness with him and found a way to the most amazing future."

Teresa continued to rock as she reflected on her aunt's words. Jeannette had visited her around the time that Patrick was playing head games and other assorted things with Lorelei Martins. She silently agreed with her aunt that it was a very dark time but at least her aunt had left the country before they had to fake Teresa's death. Nor was she there to see the fallout after Patrick had his final meeting with McAllister. Those were also very, very dark days.

Teresa sighed. "There were many times when I had no idea what the future held. I was so busy trying to survive the present that it seemed too much to ask to think about more. Even after Patrick- when the CBI closed- I tried to rebuild my life and I tried to pick up the pieces but- I couldn't admit how much I needed him. How much I loved him. And yet, he came back and we still almost completely blew it." Teresa stopped and smiled softly, "We've definitely learned to take nothing for granted."

Jeannette smiled softly in return, "It's good to have learned that lesson this early in your marriage. It helps you get through the rough patches."

Teresa looked at her aunt who had always seemed like such a well put together confident no-nonsense woman. She was in many ways Teresa's role model. It was rare to see this quiet sad side of her aunt.

"I'm sorry I couldn't get to you when Uncle Benedict died. Unfortunately, the FBI was watching me very closely and leaving the country was basically impossible," Teresa explained.

Jeannette casual waved her hand, "Don't worry, sweet one, I understood. And it's not as if much could have been done anyway. We knew your uncle was getting sicker and sicker. We also knew that it wasn't going to get better."

Her voice softened and her eyes sparkled with the hint of tears, "There isn't a day that goes by that I don't miss him, but I'm so glad that the pain is gone. Those last few years were so hard on him. When the time came, I knew to let him go and allow myself to be grateful for the time we had and the life we made together."

Both women were silent, sharing the peace brought on by the evening until Jeannette giggled. "Has he ever figured out what you did?"

Teresa chuckled, "I'm not sure. I'm wondering if he's finally found out, but so far he seems to have forgotten about all of it. And if I didn't say it then, I'm saying it now. Thank you for the wise advice."

Jeannette silently acknowledged this and said, "When Benedict's brother and his family were so mean to me I was glad your uncle and I had managed to do this and since I was doing it for us, I thought it would be a good way to help you protect him."

"My future boss wasn't happy, but you were right. There was little he could do."

"There was little who could do?" Patrick had heard her last response and wondered what the two had been talking about. He carried a tray with two cups of tea and a cup of coffee for his wife whom he was sure had brown blood.

"Thank you, sweetheart," she said as she took the cup and responded. "Uh, we were just talking about how irritated I made Abbott when you were on the run and he was trying to find you."

Patrick sat down in the rocker beside Teresa's and smiled. "Well, he was right about one thing. I couldn't give you up and he eventually found me because I couldn't stop writing to you."

Jeannette sipped her tea and wondered if this was the right moment but decided that although they were all in a good mood now, it felt as if there were clouds forming around them after their meeting with Cho today. She would wait. Besides, they were all getting along so well. She believed they would be okay with it but what if they weren't? What if they were merely being kind and generous? Yes, she would wait.

After she finished her tea, Jeannette decided it was time to drive back into town so she said her goodnights to them. "It's been a lovely evening, but I think I need to drive back to the cottage."

Patrick and Teresa stood up with her and Teresa asked, "Was there anything you wanted to do tomorrow, Aunt Jeannette? I don't have to be in the office until late morning."

She thought for a moment and said, "Why don't you come by the cottage around 8:30 and we'll go do a little shopping."

"Okay, that sounds great," Teresa said as she gave her aunt a hug. "And thank you for taking Clara today."

Jeannette turned and gave Patrick a hug and then said to both of them, "Remember, if you need someone to look after Clara, let me know."

The couple watched the older woman drive out onto the access road and slowly drive away. Patrick slung an arm across his wife's shoulders and said, "Tell me, does your aunt seem like there's something bothering her? Every so often she seemed like she was going to tell us something but stopped."

Teresa sighed and leaned into her husband. "I thought she was going to tell me something when we sat out here but then she changed the subject, so yes, I do think she's worried. Hopefully, she'll tell us soon so whatever it is we can deal with it."

"Speaking of dealing with things, we got a text from Cho. He wants to meet with both of us again tomorrow afternoon."

Teresa groaned as they walked into the house and began closing doors and windows. "Please let it be something simple like a paperwork snafu."

"That's a possibility," Jane said without much inflection as he watched his wife step quietly into their daughter's room. Each night, Teresa liked to go in after Clara was in bed and just look at the little girl. She would stroke her tiny hand or her head and talk in the softest of whispers to her before she would leave the room.

"You're my surprise blessing and the best thing I've ever done," Teresa had said to her daughter.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

The next morning Teresa was up early to spend some quality time with her daughter before she left to see her aunt. As she prepared to leave, she asked Patrick what his plan was for the morning.

"Well, I thought I would work on the next supply order for the addition and then I would drop Clara at the daycare on my way in to meet you in Cho's office this afternoon. I know Jeannette offered to take her again today, but she might want some time either to do something or nothing on her own or with her new friend Myrtis."

Teresa nodded, "Yeah, I don't want to take advantage of her."

Giving Patrick a quick kiss, she left father and daughter preparing to look at supply sites and headed into town. She hoped her favorite aunt was in a mood to share today. She knew something was bothering her but wasn't sure what it could be.

At the house, she knocked and waited a moment for Aunt Jeannette to come to the door. When she opened the door, Teresa saw that the woman was on the phone talking with one of her clients.

Jeannette waved Teresa inside even as she continued her conversation. "Yes, Milo, I do understand. However, I don't feel comfortable working with that website. … I know how much you want it, but- It won't matter how quickly I get it if it's not authentic. … I am sure. … Please, Milo, let me continue my search. I'll get you a first edition and you won't have to worry about getting it from a crooked dealer. … Very good. …. Yes … Thank you, Milo. … I will contact you. … Yes. … Cheers!"

Teresa watched as her aunt ended the call and put her cellphone back into her pocket before she leaned forward to give her a hug and kiss. "Problems with a client, Aunt Jeannette?"

Jeannette made a scoffing sound, "Oh it's just Milo. He always wants what he wants when he wants it."

She picked up her purse and turned back to her niece saying, "Now what would you like to do this morning?"

The cop in Teresa had been looking around the room and observing while Aunt Jeannette was on the phone and her attention was focused elsewhere. She noticed that the room was neat as a pin but there were a few changes. Most notably Aunt Jeannette had taken up full residence at the desk and had moved a few things around in the room. She was quite pleased that her aunt felt so comfortable here.

Teresa smiled, "That's what I would ask you. You're new to Austin so please feel free to make requests."

"Do you happen to know where there's a moderately well thought of antique shop?"

Teresa thought for a minute. "Y-y-yes, I believe so. I'm not sure why you're quantifying it, though."

Jeannette smiled in response as they walked to the door. "I have found that very well known antique shops are very overpriced and sometimes the merchandise isn't what it's purported to be, while truly awful places are that way for a reason and nothing is trustworthy. It's that one in the middle ground that usually is the fairest and most honest with customers."

Teresa shrugged her shoulders slightly and led the way outside, "Makes sense."

They spent a couple hours at two shops that Teresa thought would fit the bill. Aunt Jeannette looked at a number of different pieces and Teresa couldn't quite get a handle on what they were looking for.

"Is there something I should be searching to find, Aunt Jeannette?"

Jeannette who was mostly learning where these shops were so she could come back on her own later, smiled and said, "Today I'm really only getting to know these places. I plan more trips."

When the two women decided that they had browsed long enough, they agreed to stop at a diner not far from the second shop. They ordered sandwiches and iced tea, while Teresa returned to observing her aunt.

When the waitress left, Aunt Jeannette looked at Teresa and said, "I think I know why you rose so fast through the CBI and got offered whatever position you wanted at the FBI."

Teresa cocked her head. "Why?"

"You spend a lot of time in quiet observation; assessing others to see if you can detect something before asking," Jeannette replied with eyes narrowing. "What are you trying to detect in me, young lady?"

Teresa shook her head. She hadn't heard that tone of "young lady" in many years. "I'm sorry. It's an occupational hazard."

Jeannette didn't believe that was all there was to it but since she wasn't ready to open up yet, she wasn't going to push it. Instead, she changed the subject. "Since we are alone with no chance of being interrupted by my very charming nephew, may I ask a few questions of a familial and personal nature?"

Teresa had a feeling she knew where this was going and was ready. "Sure, go ahead."

The waitress brought the tea over and after she left, Jeannette spoke. "For many years, I've known that you cared deeply for Patrick. Well, to be completely honest, I was absolutely sure you were in love with the man even though you refused to admit. Since he was going through an unimaginable amount of pain, I understood that. But then your brother Stan emailed me at one point that you were very serious about some other man and thinking of moving with him to Washington DC. I start to plan a trip and I get the announcement that you and Patrick are wed and expecting a child. There are few disconnects there and I'm hoping you can at least start to clarify things."

When Teresa heard her life condensed in this way it never failed to be at least a little embarrassing. She would always feel bad about the way she led Marcus Pike on, all the while knowing that he wasn't the one that kept making her heart skip a beat. She had done a lot of explaining to him, to Patrick, and even to Stan who had worried about his big sister. This was now the equivalent of explaining it to a parent. She nodded her head and stared at her glass. "I know it must have seemed rather strange when you were getting the news second and third hand. I'm sorry, Aunt Jeannette. It was a really crazy few years and you saw part of it when I decided to take a some things into my own hands to protect Patrick's future even when he didn't think he had one."

Jeannette waited for Teresa to continue. Teresa shook her head saying, "It seems like a hundred years ago, but I know it wasn't."

Teresa briefly told her aunt about the final surge to track down Red John and some of the trials that she, Patrick, and the team had gone through at the end. Jeannette said nothing while Teresa explained. She listened to what wasn't said as much as what was. It was obvious to her how much pain and anguish everyone had suffered. As Teresa finished, the waitress returned with their sandwiches. They ate in companionable silence for a few minutes before Jeannette broached the subject again.

"So there you are in Sacramento with your career in shambles and Patrick in places unknown. What made you decide to take the job up in Washington state?" Jeannette asked.

Teresa played with her sandwich and shrugged, "They offered me a job. When the CBI closed I had a difficult time finding work. I had been a division leader and I was considered a bit tainted. When I got the offer in Washington, I took it."

Jeannette could only imagine the kind of suffering Teresa had gone through. She shook her head and said, "Oh, my sweet one, I wish you had let me know. It kills me that you went through so much pain."

Teresa took a cleansing breath as her thoughts returned to how good her life was now. "I know, but I didn't want to have the international manhunt show up at your door. Besides, it's over now."

Jeannette hoped it was but she could tell that since yesterday afternoon, Teresa had a slightly haunted look about her. She reached over and took her niece's hand. "I know you probably can't talk about what happened at work yesterday, but if you're feeling anxious, you can always come to me."

Teresa squeezed her aunt's hand, smiled, and blinked back a stray tear. "Thank you. I'm sure everything will be okay."

Aunt Jeannette wondered who Teresa was trying to reassure.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Teresa dropped Aunt Jeannette at the cottage and drove on to work. As she got off the elevator she saw her husband coming out of the break room with a cup of tea and a cup of coffee that he handed her as she leaned forward to give him a peck on the cheek.

"Thank you, sweetheart," she said as they walked to his couch that sat behind her desk. She secretly loved the couch as much as he did and had searched many online catalogs to make sure that the one they got for their home was as close to this one as possible. She was thrilled when she not only found the couch but also a large overstuffed chair and ottoman to go with it.

After a couple sips of tea, Jane asked how her morning with her aunt had been and Lisbon chatted a bit about their tour of antique shops. Jane nodded but didn't say much more.

"How was your morning? Did you and Clara have a good time ordering supplies? I take it she's at daycare now," Teresa asked with a smile.

"Oh, we had a lovely time. If I understood correctly bubbles were good and snorts were bad. And yes, our gifted daughter is across the street making all the other children jealous," Jane responded with a soft but boastful smile.

Teresa nodded. "Very good."

Jane turned and asked if Aunt Jeannette had opened up any and Lisbon shook her head. "No, she managed to turn everything back around and asked much more than she answered. She's definitely guarded."

Jane winked as he teased, "Family trait, I take it."

Teresa rolled her eyes but turned to the business at hand. "Should we head into Cho's office?"

Jane shrugged, "Might as well see if he's ready to share."

Through the glass walls they could see that Cho was alone and reading a file. Lisbon still tapped on the door to bring his attention away from the papers. "Lisbon, Jane, come in."

The couple sat down across from their boss as he closed the file and turned to his laptop and typed something.

"What's this about, boss?" Lisbon asked.

Cho frowned and turned to them and said, "There's been another report of a woman killed with a linoleum knife and a smiley face in blood was wiped off."

Jane and Lisbon each briefly closed their eyes before turning to each other and exchanges glances. Cho observed and again marveled at how he could have missed how perfectly attuned to each other they had been all these years.

"Where?" Jane asked.

Cho answered, "Redfield, Iowa."

"He's moving," Lisbon commented.

Cho continued to read from the report as he handed them copies of the crime scene photos. "Alyssa Stoneham, 32, was found dead a few days ago. She worked as a clerk at a regional federal records repository. She was single, lived alone, and had no family. According to her coworkers she was a very private person and she was dead for three days before anyone reported her missing."

The three were quiet for a few minutes while Jane and Lisbon went through the images and handed them back to Cho.

Finally, Cho leaned back in his chair and leveled a hard stare at Jane. "I'm sorry, but I have to ask this. Are you sure Red John is dead?"

Jane returned Cho's stare without reservation. "Absolutely. There is no doubt in my mind that he's dead. Whoever is doing this just wants my attention and knew this was the way to do it."

Cho hesitated before he continued, "The Assistant Director pointed out that one other time you said you had killed Red John but it wasn't true so I was required to ask."

Jane shook his head in irritation. "I would not have given up two years of my life and put all of us through what I did if I didn't believe I had done what I had to do."

He stopped and looked at Lisbon. She felt his eyes and turned from looking at Cho to looking at her husband. "Red John is dead."

She didn't hesitate. She nodded her head and turned back to Cho. "Jane would know if this was Red John. If he says it's a copycat, it's a copycat."

Faced with the united front, Cho felt assured that he could go back to his boss and confirm the copycat theory. He still wondered what had happened between McAllister and Jane that final day, but he supposed he would never know.

"So what happens now?" Lisbon asked.

Cho sighed. "Well, not much yet. As you know, we have to be called in by the local authorities or show cause to take over and no one is prepared to do that- yet. However, there is a criminal forensics conference taking place and the FBI is going to ask questions there to see if there are any more instances of this M.O. If that occurs, be ready to assist."

Lisbon nodded and the meeting broke up. Jane was not happy and it was obvious he did not want to go anywhere near this rabbit hole. She didn't either but at least for now it was her job and even as a part-time consultant he wasn't going to have much choice about it. Besides, if the unsub was linked to Red John, there was no way Jane was going to let his wife go into battle without him.

As they walked back to their area of the FBI bullpen, Lisbon's phone began to ring.

"Lisbon," she said.

"Yes. I'm sorry, what?" Jane observed the frown and the confused sound of his wife's voice and stopped as he was about to sit down on his couch.

"Is she okay?"

Jane's heart stopped and he immediately was at her side.

"What's happening?! Is Clara all right?" he demanded.

She nodded and held up her hand to gesture him to quiet so she could hear.

"Okay, Myrtis. Thanks for calling. We'll be there as soon as we can," Lisbon thanked her former neighbor again before hanging up and turning to her husband to reassure him.

"Our daughter is fine. It's my aunt who had a problem. She startled a burglar," Lisbon explained even as she picked up her purse and keys.

"What? Is she okay?" Jane asked as he started to follow her through the room.

"I guess so," she said as she turned to Wylie and said, "Wylie, we have a small family emergency and we'll be gone probably for the rest of the day."

Wylie nodded, "Okay, let me know if you need anything."

Even as he finished speaking the couple was getting on the elevator. It was a small enough room that he understood what was happening and he hoped everything was fine. I have a feeling they have enough trouble coming their way, he thought.


	10. Chapter 10

**As usual, I own none of these characters.**

 **Cheers! ~~ Archijenn**

Chapter 10

"Teresa, I'm fine. Really," Jeannette repeated the assurance to her niece who still wasn't completely sure.

The two women sat on the sofa. Teresa held one of her aunt's hands in both of hers. Jane had taken the time to talk to Myrtis whom he suspected was lying to him. "Oh, Patrick, I'm so sorry. I got the wrong end of the stick here. I'm so embarrassed to have called you. I guess there was no burglar. I can't believe I was so silly."

Now he wanted to hear of the incident straight from Jeannette. He sat down in the chair opposite and watched her reactions.

"Jeannette, what exactly did happen?"

She looked at Jane and sighed. She instinctively knew that trying to act like a dithering female was not going to work with this man. He saw too much. However, she wasn't ready to tell them the full story.

She sighed, "I feel horrible that I scared everyone. I wasn't in any danger. I was working at the desk and I thought I heard a noise at the door. When I opened the door there was a man leaning over. For a brief moment I thought he had been trying to pick the lock. I screamed and the poor man ran away. I realized he was just putting fliers on doors. Myrtis heard me and came running even while she was phoning you."

Jeannette turned to Teresa and finished, "I'm so sorry I upset you. Myrtis made the call before I could stop her."

Teresa stared at her aunt and looked for signs of deception. She seemed to be telling the truth but she couldn't shake the feeling that there was something else. However, she didn't want to challenge her because it was also obvious that Aunt Jeannette was a bit pale, so she nodded her head, and reached over to give her a hug.

"Well, I'm glad you're okay."

Jeannette returned Teresa's embrace and stroked her hair the way she had when Teresa was a little girl. "Oh sweet one, please don't worry."

Jane observed without saying anything. Now he knew that there was something that Jeannette was hiding and whoever showed up at the door was part of that "something." Jeannette appeared a bit shaken so he would leave it for now but he was definitely going to to get to the bottom of it.

Once they were assured that Jeannette was going to stay home the rest of the day and evening, they got up to leave. They had walked outside and Jane and Lisbon were almost to the driveway when he turned around, appearing to have had a sudden thought. "Oh, Aunt Jeannette, which way did the guy go?"

Jeannette was startled, "What?"

"The man with the fliers- which way did he go?" Jane explained and asked again.

Jeannette stared blankly at him for a brief moment before she responding, "Oh! Him. Uh, he went that direction."

Jane looked in the direction she pointed, nodded, and gave her a small smile. "Okay. Just curious."

Lisbon was frowning at him before she turned back to her aunt and smiled. "I'll give you a call later."

Jeannette smiled and nodded as she went inside and closed the door. She stood in the entry and sighed before she shook her head and said to herself, "I'm going to have to stop telling so many lies."

As Lisbon and Jane got to the car, Lisbon turned to her partner and asked, "What did her answer tell you?"

He looked in the direction Jeannette said the frightened flier man ran, then other houses in the neighborhood, and finally the opposite direction. As he opened the car door for his wife he was shaking his head. "Not everyone is home and I don't see anything on the other doors in either direction. Whatever he was doing, I don't think it was passing out fliers. Also, most people startled as your aunt was would have answered me that they weren't sure, but she was definite."

Teresa nodded. "She watched him run away. Perhaps she chased him a bit? Myrtis was out of breath when I talked to her so maybe she ran after Aunt Jeannette."

Jane shrugged, "It's possible. The real question is what is going on with your aunt and why is she afraid to tell us?"

Teresa sighed deeply. "Whatever it is, she has to know we'll help her."

Jane started the car before responding, "For now, we know she's safe so we can wait before we question her again. Meanwhile, we better go get Clara."

The couple went to the daycare center, picked up their daughter, and drove home.

Over the next couple week, things were quiet in Austin. The unit wasn't called out on a case and spent time reading through cold cases. Jane worked on a few of them in the office and from home. His ability to "close cases" was on display as he read through files pointed out errors in logic and procedure. In a few cases, he solved them just by looking at the reports.

Jimmy and Stan came down and helped Jane work on the extension. With their help and a few day laborers they hired, they managed to have walls up, the roof on, the windows installed, the electric and plumbing done and they were finishing the flooring. At this rate, it wouldn't be long until Teresa and Patrick could focus on decorating the new rooms and finishing the landscaping around the cabin.

The evening before Jimmy and Stan were leaving, the entire clan staying in Austin had one last big meal together. It was a bit noisy but with a lot of laughter and all were having a wonderful time. They were all seated around the table at the Janes' cabin where the remains of a hearty but simple meal of pasta and salad had been completed. Finally, Patrick stood up and started clearing the table.

"Oh, you don't have to do that," his wife insisted and started to get up.

He put a hand on her shoulder to encourage her to sit back down, "Teresa, you made all of this. Let me do my part and clean up."

He leaned down and, ignoring the fact that two of her three brothers and her aunt were sitting there, gave his lovely Teresa a gentle kiss.

As he stood back up she smiled at him softly and said, "You're a very hard man to argue with."

Stan and Jimmy exchanged looks planning to tease the couple when their aunt stood up and said, "Patrick Jane, sit down. You did work all day long on finishing that flooring and I won't see you or Teresa, who put together the lasagne after working part of the day at the FBI, standing in the kitchen doing dishes."

She turned to Jimmy and Stan and said, "Which one of you smirking lads is going to help your aunt?"

Both men were startled not because they're aunt had volunteered to help or to have asked them to assist. It was the notion that they were "lads" that made both men freeze. Unfortunately, for Stan it also meant that he voiced his confusion with an insightful, "Uh-h-h.."

"Excellent, Stan, I will take that pithy response to mean that you will help me with the dishes. Jimmy, you'll take out the trash, please," Aunt Jeannette concluded in her crisp tones that allowed no argument.

Teresa and Patrick exchanged looks, shrugged shoulders, and went to check on their daughter who was ignoring all the adults in favor of her fascinating toes that she had discovered she could grab.

Stan and Jimmy followed their aunt's instructions and cleared the table bringing all the dishes to the sink and gathering the trash and recycling. As they worked they quietly reminisced and the chores were considered a mere excuse to be together. Both men had noticed that their favorite aunt, while obviously enjoying having so much family around her this evening, had been distracted at times and almost fearful at others during the few days that they had been in town. They had talked with their sister about it and she told them that she was mystified by it, too.

As Jeannette and Stan stood alone in the kitchen finishing, he decided it was time to confront her. "Aunt Jeannette, I want to ask you something."

Jeannette who was wiping down the counters while half listening to the sounds of Teresa and Patrick laughing with their daughter in her room, responded automatically, "Of course, dear boy. What is it?"

"What's wrong?" Stan asked in a firm voice that was free of inflection.

Jeannette stopped and turned to look at him as he stood there drying the pasta pot. She could tell by the look on his face that she wasn't going to be able to laugh away his question and she let out a slow sigh. "Stan, I'm trying to resolve a problem and I'm working on it but I'm not ready to say more than that yet."

When it appeared he was going to say something, Jeannette reached over, took the pot from his grip, and put her hands on his shoulders, and said in a reassuring voice, "Please, believe me, that I know you and your brother and sister are concerned about me. When I can, I will explain it. But first, I have to come to grips with the solution myself."

Stan reached out and gave her a bear hug saying, "Well, I guess that's the best I can do, but Aunt Jeannette, you have to let us know when any or all of us can help you. We love you and we need to be able to help."

Jeannette hugged her nephew back as hard as she could for a moment before she pulled back and said, "I love all of you so very much. You're the closest family I have and I won't treat that lightly, I promise."

Just then Jimmy came bouncing back in from the garbage cans secured at the side of the cabin and announced, "The sky to the southwest is looking pretty ugly. I think the storms are coming in."

Teresa and Patrick hearing what Jimmy said came out of Clara's room carrying the baby monitor as Jeannette declared, "Stan, I think that's our cue to head back to town before this road gets too muddy."

Stan, who was staying with his aunt at the house in town, agreed and the two of them said their goodbyes to Teresa and Patrick. Teresa gave her brother and extra hug and told him to be careful on his flight back to Chicago in the morning, and Patrick thanked his brother-in-law for all his help with the addition. Nephew and aunt finished their goodbyes to Clara and left.

Jimmy walked out with them, exchanging a few quiet words with his brother and coordinating their time to leave for the airport in the morning before he came back in the house. He told them that Stan had talked with Jeannette.

Teresa and Patrick sat down on the couch as Jimmy sat down in one of the armchairs as she asked, "Did she tell him what's going on?"

He shook his head, "No, but she did acknowledge that there IS something going on."

Teresa frowned, "Well, that's a start anyway."

Jimmy shrugged, "According to Stan, she does plan to talk to us but not until she's worked through something first."

Patrick turned, put his feet up and relaxed with his head in his wife's lap and commented with a sigh, "She's a capable woman and if she really needs us right now, it sounds like she would say something. We'll just have to wait now."

Teresa playfully tweaked his nose and said, "Quit being reasonable. It's not an attractive trait when I want to be unreasonable."

He smiled up at her and merely said, "Yes, dear."

Jimmy chuckled and shook his head. He couldn't get over how much more trusting and open his sister had become since she and Patrick had admitted that they were in love. It was as if she had lived in darkness for most of her life and had now found the light. That's why he had noticed the moments when they both seemed strained during this visit. It wasn't only his aunt who was having problems.

"Stan said he got Aunt Jeannette to say as much as she did by being direct and just asking her what was wrong," Jimmy said looking directly at the couple, "So on their behalf I'll ask you two, what's wrong?"

Patrick tried the standard, "I'm sorry, I don't know what you're talking about," response but Jimmy just gave him a smirking look.

"C'mon, you and T are great poker players, but we've seen how anxious you've been when the phone rings or when you're handling something FBI related. I know we're civilians, but if there's something going on that's affecting you this much it might be something that we can do to support you. At least we could try and carry the weight on the homefront if necessary," Jimmy reasoned.

Teresa and Patrick exchanged glances. Patrick silently let Teresa decide how much she wanted her family to know. Teresa thought for a second before replying.

Finally, she explained, "There appears to be someone copying an old case that Jane and I worked. We're not sure why these new crimes are happening and they're not happening in Austin. However, we may be brought in to work the files."

Jimmy looked at both of them. It was obvious that they were trying to be detached and cool but he could see the signs of stress and just the fact that he could see it in Jane scared him. Jane's tells were practically non-existent so to realize that Jane was unable to hide his concern told him how large it was. However, he could also see that they wouldn't or perhaps couldn't talk more about it so he nodded his head.

"Well, obviously you guys are the experts but we all stand by our offers. If you need any of us, we're available," he stated with concern.

"Thanks, Jimmy," Teresa say with a warm smile which Patrick echoed.

Deciding to change the subject, Jimmy turned on the television intent on checking the weather and getting an update on some games.

The weather report indicated a line of heavy thunderstorms coming through in about an hour as they heard thunder clap in the distance. Teresa suggested that Tommy sleep inside the cabin on the couch instead of the Airstream, but he said he liked the way storms sounded on the metal roof.

Jane who was only half listening to the siblings as he let his mind drift while enjoying the way his wife absentmindedly stroked his face and hair as he gave her other hand a gentle massage, chuckled at that.

"I do, too, but your sister thinks it's too loud," Jane explained.

"It is too loud. I don't know how you can sleep with that racket," Teresa argued.

"Maybe it's the superior male brain, sis," Jimmy explained as he stood up to head out to his noisy room.

"Careful, Jimmy, she still has a mean right hook," Jane teased.

"Ha, ha, ha. You two are hysterical," she sneered and narrowed her eyes briefly.

Jimmy said his goodnights and assured them that he would come in for coffee before he drove in to pick up Stan and head for the airport tomorrow.

Not long after Jimmy left, Teresa and Patrick decided to go to bed and Teresa took the opportunity to remind Patrick of what else she still did very, very well.


	11. Chapter 11

**Author's Note: Hi folks! I'm sorry this is taking so long, but I'm truly trying to "get it right" and I want to tell it in a way that makes sense. I hope you'll understand and be patient with me.**

 **Thanks for all the great feedback.**

 **As usual, I don't own these characters. I merely take them out and play with them from time to time.**

 **Cheers! ~~ Archijenn**

 **Chapter 11**

The worst of the storms roared through overnight but dark clouds, showers, and cool temperatures lingered. At the Janes' cabin, there was a huge sense of relief that except for some downed branches, they had weathered the storms with no serious damage and the drainage plan that the previous property owner had started to build and Jane had finished was working and had eliminated flooding fears. The last thing on his mind when he first looked at the property was floodplains and storm contingencies. It was only after he walked the full 24 acres a month after he'd started working on the cabin that he discovered how lucky he was. Teresa told him that God looked out for fools and children. While he didn't believe that her deity had been involved he was glad everything worked in their favor.

Teresa stood in the kitchen warming a bottle and making coffee as Patrick came in with some wood for the fireplace. He had installed a heating system but on an evening like they were expecting, it felt warmer and cheerier to light a fire.

"How does it look out there?" She asked as the timer dinged for the bottle.

He continued to stack logs for the evening fire as he answered. "Well, it appears that things are okay. That old maple did lose a limb but it still looks healthy. Oh, and our mallard couple, Frank and Lulu were roaming around on the other side of the pond. Did the guys take off on time?"

As Teresa prepared to feed their daughter, she responded in a gentler singsong voice, "Yes, Uncle Stan and Uncle Jimmy took off only about ten minutes delayed which is as close as that airline ever gets to on-time."

Patrick smiled as he heard her tone. He finished his task, stood up, turned, and could not help but admire how beautiful Teresa looked holding their daughter and smiling down at her. She was talking quietly to Clara, telling her a story about one of her uncles. He had watched her feed the baby countless times and he was still amazed at how perfect the two looked together and how peaceful he always felt when he saw them.

Sensing his gaze Teresa looked up at him and smiled warmly. The fact that they had created this beautiful little girl was all the confirmation she would ever need that they had always been destined for each other- soulmates.

Clara gave a little grunt to recapture their focus and they both chuckled.

"I beg your pardon, miss," Teresa laughed, "I was distracted for a moment by your handsome daddy."

Patrick walked over to the pair, gave each a kiss on the head and started to make tea. The parents chatted about mundane household issues and talked to their daughter, occasionally asking her opinion, but she seemed more focused on breakfast. Soon she was finished, and Teresa raised her to her shoulder and began to gently pat her back and bounce her softly until she heard her burp.

"Are you coming into the bureau today?" Teresa asked him.

"Probably later. I intend to call Jeannette and see if she's free this morning for a little visit." He responded.

Teresa sighed. "Do you think that's a good idea? I got the impression from Stan that she wasn't ready to talk to us yet."

Patrick waved his hand and assured her, "Don't worry. I won't grill her about whatever the problem is. I just want to make sure she's not feeling lonely with Stan gone. I know your uncle has been gone for a while now, but it takes very little time to get used to having someone there and when you're alone again, it can feel pretty awful."

Teresa had a feeling she knew he was speaking from first-hand experience. He had become used to having her and the CBI team to rely on. When he was suddenly alone in exile, he had to have felt completely cut off. She had felt it too. Sure, she had more friendly faces around her but none was the right face. None was his face.

She put Clara in her playpen and surrounded her with toys then came over and gave her husband a kiss.

"I love you, Patrick Jane," she said quietly, "And don't you ever forget it."

He smiled and stroked her hair. "I love you, too, Teresa Lisbon Jane."

Teresa finished getting ready for work. As she was leaving, she could hear him talking on the phone to her aunt. She was getting in her car when a little gust of wind came through and gave her car a slight shake. It seemed to be telling her that these moments of happiness were to be cherished because you didn't know what could be coming.

Jane finished his call with Jeannette, bundled Clara against the rain and chill, and headed into town. Jeannette was waiting at the door when they arrived.

"Come in, come in," she insisted. "Let's not let have the little one catch a chill."

"Don't worry," Jane assured her. "Teresa teases me about over dressing Clara on a warm day."

The two adults settled the baby girl in her playpen in living room and Jeannette went to the kitchen and came back with a tea tray complete with finger sandwiches and sweets.

"Aunt Jeannette, you didn't have to go to all this trouble," Jane protested without conviction looking at the delicious tray.

"First, it's no trouble. Second, don't tell me you haven't wanted to have a proper tea with someone who understands all that it entails. And finally, finger sandwiches are frightfully easy and the sweets are from the grocery store bakery; a thing I discovered while Stan was here. The man definitely has the Lisbon sweet tooth. I couldn't keep up," she responded with a laugh.

Jane nodded. "Teresa likes sweets but not as much as Stan. She mostly loves ice cream, but I watched Stan at our wedding. He ate three pieces of cake."

Jeannette continued to laugh and shook her head. "That sounds about right."

The two were quiet for a moment while they savored their tea and watched the rain falling outside the front window.

Finally Jane broke the silence in a quiet tone, "Aunt Jeannette, Teresa and I know that you're troubled-"

Jeannette stiffened her spine and started to interrupt him but he continued. "Please. As I was saying, we know you're troubled and we want you to know that whenever you're ready, we're here to help. You haven't experienced having an FBI agent and an FBI consultant as your backups. It's pretty powerful, so again please; don't hesitate to bring us in when you can."

Jeannette's eyes warmed as she said to him, "Thank you, Patrick. I promise that if I need 'backup' as you call it, I'll let you know."

"Very good," he said and nodded his head as Jeannette indicated she could pour him another cup of tea. "Now that that's settled I have a problem I could use your help in solving."

Jeannette tilted her head. "And what could that possibly be?"

Patrick sighed. "Saturday is our anniversary and I'm having a hard time deciding what to get Teresa."

"Oh my! I didn't realize it was that close," she exclaimed. "Well, what ideas have you had?"

He frowned. "The problem is that I've had too many. Your niece is a genius at the unexpected gift and I want her to have that same experience."

Jeannette cocked her head at this explanation, "What do you mean by 'unexpected'?"

"Something you would never have thought she would find a way to give you," he explained in a circular fashion before giving her an example. "When we worked together at the CBI, there was a teacup that I loved to use. The age and finish of the cup, it was vintage Fiesta Ware, kept the tea warmer longer and allowed the flavor to stay smooth."

She could see that his mind drifted from a mild memory to a disturbing one as he continued. "The last day that I was in the building, an FBI mover accidentally knocked the cup from my hand. Pieces were scattered all over the floor when I left."

He shook his head of the dark memories of those days. "Then for my first birthday that we were together she presented me with that cup. I couldn't believe it. She had found the pieces, glued the cup back together again, had it re-glazed, and kept it for me. No one had ever done anything like that for me- ever."

Jeannette's eyes grew a bit misty listening to this. She, too, could see her niece on her hands and knees, surrounded by people accusing her at the least of being part of a corrupt law enforcement agency and at worst part of a conspiracy to commit murder, carefully picking up all the pieces of a cup that she may have been able to order a replacement for online. No, Teresa had known what that cup meant to him and therefore what it meant to her.

Jane had stopped, remembering the night of his birthday and the amazement at seeing that cup again. He cleared his throat, "I was out of the country for about two years. When I returned and we started working together again here in Austin, I made some bad mistakes. I was both arrogant and scared. I drove her away from me even as I wanted her never to leave me. I had many truths I had to confront. During all that, she had that cup. She didn't throw it away. She didn't give up on putting it back together and I think when she gave it to me she was telling me that she had never given up on putting me back together."

He looked at Jeannette and saw that she was crying, "Sorry. I guess I haven't really told anyone about this before now. But you can see that between that and waiting until we were alone at our wedding reception to give me the gift of being a father, and I feel I have some serious gift giving standards."

Jeannette gave a watery laugh, leaned over, grabbed a tissue, and composed herself. "I think you're right. That's a tough act to follow."

She sat up straight and forced herself to move forward. "What kind of presents have you given her in the past?"

"Nothing very romantic. Remember, we were friends and partners for so many years and we never let on that we loved each other. It was too risky. However, I did get her a pony one year for her birthday. Now THAT was memorable."

Jeannette's jaw dropped and her eyes widened. "You're joking! A pony? Really?"

He shrugged. "I knew she had always wanted one so I got her one."

Jeannette still looked confused. "She told you she always wanted a pony for her birthday?"

Jane shook his head. "No, but it went with her personality and from a cold reading I had done with her I just knew it."

Teresa had explained "cold readings" to Jeannette and the older woman had to admit that she found the thought of such abilities in fascinating and frightening. She admired her niece's courage to have kept the few secrets she had from this man. Jeannette doubted she was going to be able to keep much secret from him for long. In fact, she was worried right now because she did know what Teresa was giving him.

Jane watched Jeannette closely. He realized that she knew what Teresa was planning. He also realized that he could probably work her until he found out but that would not be right or fair. Jeannette should be someone that they could confide in when needed. He decided to put her mind at ease.

"If Teresa has told you what she's giving me, don't worry. I won't ask you to betray her trust. I've discovered that I love her surprises," he explained with a big grin.

Jeannette sighed in relief. "Thank goodness! I didn't want to get interrogated."

Jane leaned forward saying, "All I'm asking for is for your opinion."

Jeannette smiled and offered Jane more tea. The two put their heads together and discussed how best to give Teresa a wonderful anniversary.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

Kansas City officials believed that their city was probably one of the safest places on earth. They were hosting a series of conferences over the last three weeks. It was the idea of the Kansas City Police Department who received grant money to host three conferences- one on technology, one on police and community outreach, and this third one on updates in general forensics and investigative methods.

Wylie had read about the conferences and while the first one sounded the most interesting to him, he agreed with Tork that he would have enjoyed attending all of them. However, the two men were assigned only to the third one on forensics and investigative methods. It was here that Cho hoped that they would hear about any unsolved cases that were similar to the two cases that had involved the wiped off smiley face and linoleum knife.

They men had signed in and received their brochures and schedules. Neither had signed up for any of the sessions as they both wanted to roam and see what they could pick up from the other attendees. In theory, this was all very reasonable. However, now they were looking over the enormous ballroom of the largest hotel in the city and they wondered how they would ever learn anything.

Eyes scanning the room, Wylie asked, "Where do you want to start?"

Tork, who would only admit to himself that he was feeling a little frustrated that he could not see out and over the room the way his much taller colleague could, shrugged, "I think we just stick with our game plan. We're scheduled to be here for three days. Why don't we take opposite directions and we'll meet for the luncheon and compare notes?"

Wylie nodded, "Okay that makes sense."

Tork started wandering to the left as Wylie headed right. They introduced themselves as they went and chatted a lot. They exchanged contact information and steered the conversation around unusual cases. At the end of the day, they agreed that they hadn't found out anything new yet, but they remained hopeful.

In the morning, they were having breakfast and checking their phones when a man stopped at their table. "Uh, excuse me, but are you guys with the FBI?" he asked in a tone that made the FBI seem much more intimidating than either of its representatives at the table could ever project.

"Yes. I'm Agent Tork and this is Agent Wylie. What can we do for you -" Tork stopped and waited.

"Oh!" The man thrust out his hand saying, "My name's Calvin Sutton. Good to meet you."

Again, the man stood there with a slight frown on his face adding nothing so Wylie decided to try. He invited Sutton to have a seat and again asked him if there was some way they could help him.

"Well, Agent Wylie, that's the thing. I'm not completely sure I have something that the FBI would be interested in. Truthfully, I'm not sure what I have," he confessed. "I just know I have a feeling that I'm missing something. And since you guys are way more experienced I decided to screw up my courage and ask. I never expected to see FBI here and I don't want to waste an opportunity."

It was true that this type of conference was one that might have FBI agents presenting at sessions, but for the most part, it was geared more to local law enforcement. That was exactly why they came but in a way that wouldn't look like they were seeking out cases.

Tork explained, "We have a new boss and he wants us to make as many contacts as we can."

Calvin nodded and started unzipping his portfolio and pulling out a file. "Oh, well, I'm glad he sent you. I'm a sheriff's deputy in Daviess County Indiana. A month or so ago a woman was murdered there. Now that may be normal elsewhere but it's extremely rare there; especially the way this happened."

Calvin passed the file to Tork who shared it with Wylie. The two men quickly started looking through the photographs as Calvin continued. "Leanne Falls was single, with a few friends, and living on her own. The night before she died, she was at a bar out near the highway because she had received a gift card for drinks and appetizers. The bar's manager said that they hadn't sent any out and no one could recall who had purchased the gift card. You can see the statement from her girlfriend and others, as well as, the coroner on cause of death. Our sheriff thinks that the killer is probably no longer in Daviess County and I think he's probably right. But I can't help thinking that someone that went to the trouble of cutting her up the way this guy did and leaving the room the way he did, probably has done this before and may do it again."

He stopped and watched as the two men perused through the pictures. Both men stopped and looked at each other as they saw the photograph showing the strange symbol on the wall.

Calvin could tell this was important them. He leaned forward, "What? Is that significant? Does it mean something?"

Tork and Wylie exchanged glances before Wylie spoke in a calm tone that in no way matched his heart rate. "Deputy Sutton, you were right to bring this to us. We may know something about this but we'll need to make a copy of your file and take it back to Austin with us. Are you authorized to give us permission?"

Calvin couldn't believe it. He was right. This was part of something bigger. He knew that now that he had approached federal authorities he and the sheriff would be pushed aside and he sort of understood that. However, he had known Leanne and wanted to know that they cared to find justice for her.

He took a deep breath and exhaled steadily. "My sheriff and I don't have the resources to do more than what we've already done. Therefore, yes, you can copy the file. However, I want to be kept aware of developments and if any agents need to investigate locally, I want to work with them. Our county will not be as cooperative with federal agents if they think the local guys have been pushed aside."

Tork who had been in a position many times of having just that happen to him during his days at the CBI understood and nodded. "Absolutely. Thank you for bringing this to us. As soon as we know more or can tell you more we will."

Wiley had already pulled a handheld scanner out of his backpack and was scanning each page. Calvin realized that they seemed quite prepared to deal with what he had brought them. "That's really why you guys are here, isn't it? You were hoping to find cases like mine."

Wiley continued running the scanner and checking the results being sent to his tablet as he replied, "Yes, it's true we are interested in cases with this M.O. However, I think you can understand that we haven't wanted to broadcast what we're doing. People would be finding ways to make their unsolved cases fit our parameters when they don't."

Calvin nodded. "I get it. Have you found others here?"

Tork shook his head. "Not yet, but we haven't talked with everyone yet. So please be discreet about what we've done here today."

"Absolutely, but if I hear of anything that sounds close do you want me to send folks your way?"

Wiley shook his head. "Why don't you text us and one of us will meet up with you."

Calvin shrugged. "That's fine with me. I'm just glad to know that someone might be able to find out who did this to Leanne."

The three men exchanged cards and agreed to meet for drinks that evening before Calvin left to head into a session about new ways to pull prints from concrete surfaces.

When they were alone again, Tork and Wylie looked at each other amazed at what had fallen into their laps.

"This is EXACTLY like the case that Cho told us about before we left," Wylie said.

"I know," Tork responded. "Clear down to the placement of the body and the smiley face."

"Do you think there are more cases here?" Wylie asked.

Tork sighed. "Last night I would've said that no one had a case like this, but now, given how remote this location was, I'm thinking there could definitely be more. We're going to have to continue to look around and talk to folks."

Wylie returned his equipment to his backpack. The men paid their bill for breakfast, and stood to leave. Wylie was curious, "Tork, did you work on the Red John case much?"

Tork stared into the distance remembering the good and the bad of his CBI days- the investigations, the arrests, his infamous run-in with Patrick Jane. Finally he answered, "Only in a peripheral way. Jane was pretty possessive of the case, but there were times when he and Lisbon would ask for help from other units to track down a minor clue. It wasn't until after Red John was dead and the FBI stepped in to shut down the CBI that I was given a bigger assignment. I was the one who had to pack up and log everything having to do with the case and Lisbon's team and send it on to Austin for Abbott. That was weird. It felt like I was going through their dresser drawers."

Wylie understood. He couldn't imagine violating a co-worker that way.

Tork didn't want to dwell on it and he picked up his own bag before suggesting, "Why don't we stick with the plan and continue to chat with the detectives here."

Leaving the restaurant, they parted company and went out to investigate the investigators, little knowing what all they would find.


	13. Chapter 13

**Happy New Year, everyone! All my BIG plans of getting lots and lots of writing done between Christmas and New Year's went out the door with the wrapping paper. Nevertheless, this story is still in my brain and is slowly making its way out.**

 **I thank you for your patience with me and I hope you will enjoy this somewhat lighter chapter. I assure you that more will come soon.**

 **Cheers! ~~ Archijenn**

Chapter 13

Saturday morning was slightly overcast and a bit chilly as Patrick opened his eyes and became aware of the beautiful brunette sleeping peacefully in his arms. He doubted he would ever get over being amazed at the sweet, generous, fiercely loyal woman who chose him out of all the men in the world to marry and share a child. Of course, he wasn't unaware that many women considered him good looking, but with all his emotional baggage and personal history he didn't think many women would have lasted so long with him. No, his warrior princess had fought by his side, had helped heal him when he was wounded, and had given him strength when he had none. She was everything to him.

The object of his thoughts stirred, turned her head, and caught him staring down at her. With a sleepy grin she whispered, "Good morning."

He brushed her hair back from her face and returned her grin. "Good morning."

Teresa stretched and rubbed her hand across Patrick's pajama top. She knew that some people would think it odd that a man under the age of 70 wore pajamas but she understood. He had lived in an Airstream, hotels, and motels for the last almost twenty years of his life. In an emergency, it was easier to make a quick and slightly more dignified exit wearing pajamas than boxers or nothing at all. It was what he was used to. Besides, it's not as if they always stayed on all night. In fact, many nights they ended up thrown across the room along with her lingerie. She flushed slightly thinking about what they had done a few nights before. For a man who had been alone for a very long time, her husband had definitely lost nothing in stamina or creativity.

Patrick could just make out a bit of pink in her face and teased, "What is going through that naughty head of yours, Mrs. Jane."

She turned her head towards him, gave him a slightly sinister grin, and waggled her eyebrows. "A girl gets to have a few secret thoughts, doesn't she?"

He gave a slightly dramatic sigh before answering, "It's such a beautiful morning and our daughter is still sleeping peacefully so I won't torture you, so yes, you may keep your secret."

She reached up to give him a gentle kiss before she sat up. "You are a kind and benevolent, dictator, husband."

As she was starting to reach for her robe at the end of the bed, he caught her hand. She turned and gave him a questioning look to which he responded by kissing her hand and saying, "Happy anniversary, my love."

She leaned down with a smile and kissed him long and slowly, her tongue dancing with his. She finally pulled back and looked at him. "Happy anniversary to you, too, Patrick. I love you with all my heart."

He started to pull her closer when the baby monitor alerted them to Clara's awakening. With a slight sigh and a promise to revisit where they left off later, they got up to start the day.

The family was having a quiet morning at home, enjoying being together. It was about 10:30 when the phone rang. Husband and wife both sprang to the phone as they had just put Clara down for a nap.

Teresa managed to grab it first. Not wasting time to check the caller ID she quietly said, "Hello?"

"Hey, Lisbon."

"Uh, hi boss. What's up?" Teresa's heart fell and Patrick groaned.

"It's okay. You can tell Jane to relax and quit groaning. This isn't about work," Cho reassured her.

Teresa shook her head at Patrick who flopped back onto the couch with a happier sigh as she chuckled and said, "Sorry, but it's our anniversary and, well -"

"-and that's why I'm calling," Cho stepped in to avoid hearing more apologies about the sound of his voice depressing them.

"I was talking to your Aunt Jeannette and she was saying that she was babysitting my goddaughter tonight but that you two are probably still a little nervous about it because of the guy that tried to break into cottage. She's worried that you might come home earlier than you would like so we decided we're both going to babysit tonight."

Teresa was stunned. Cho had watched Clara before, but she would never have asked him to do it while she and Patrick were out to dinner.

"Uhh, that's so nice but we hate to impose," she stammered.

"Look, it's already decided and the wheels are in motion. We're showing up at the cabin to stay with Clara and you and your husband are to have a great anniversary," Cho used his most serious tone knowing that she had always had a hard time arguing with him.

"Well, if that's what you guys want to do," she agreed with a sigh.

"Excellent. Now do you know what time you two want to leave for your evening out?"

"Let me ask Patrick," she replied and turned to Patrick. "When do you want to leave this evening?"

Patrick sat up and gestured for the phone and Teresa handed it to him and walked back over to the table where she had been reading the newspaper.

"Hi Cho."

"Jane, we're all set. I just need to know what time you two want to leave."

"Great. How about 6:00? It will give Teresa enough time to tell you how to do everything that you already know how to do and find everything you already know where to find," Patrick decided only half-joking.

"I heard that," Teresa said without looking up from the paper, "Like I'm the only one with trust issues when it comes to Clara. Who was it that wanted to use federal resources to run FBI background checks on the licensed caregivers at the FBI daycare?"

Patrick pretended not to hear her, finished the call, and walked back over to the table. He kissed his wife on top of her head and sat down with a satisfied sigh. "Apparently, they are planning an evening of gin rummy and movies here and we are definitely not invited."

Teresa nodded.

Patrick waited another minute and then told him the last thing that Cho had said. "Oh and Aunt Jeannette is on her way here. Apparently, she's decided to take you out for some pampering today."

Teresa's head popped up, "Now?"

Patrick snatched the newspaper section from her, refolded it to the article he wanted to read, and responded, "Yes. In fact, I think I hear a car pulling in now."

Teresa got up and went outside to greet her. "Aunt Jeannette, I just heard that you were coming."

"Good morning, sweet one," Jeannette returned as she shut the car door. "I thought it might be fun to go do a little shopping this morning and maybe do, what is it called? Pedman? Manped?"

"Mani Pedi?"

"Yes! That's it! We could get a mani pedi," Jeannette smiled.

Teresa started to speak, "Well, I guess so but-"

"No buts. I want to do this for you and I will not hear anything except, 'Yes, Aunt Jeannette,'" she laughed as she ushered her niece inside to pick up her purse and say goodbye to her husband.

As Jeannette and Patrick waited for Teresa to come out of the bedroom, Jeannette turned to him and spoke quietly, "We'll be gone for about three hours. That should give you enough time to take care of your calls."

Patrick nodded, "I should have everything ready in plenty of time. Thanks for getting her out of the house. I don't like lying to her but I can't explain the phone calls without telling her everything."

"It will all work out this evening," Jeannette assured him.

Teresa came out of the bedroom and grabbed her keys and phone. To Patrick she said, "We'll be gone a few hours."

Jane leaned down and punctuated his goodbye with gentle quick kisses. "That's fine… Clara and I will be here… I love you."

Patrick waited until Jeannette had pulled away before he picked up the phone. He checked his watch as he was dialing. It should be late enough in the Cayman Islands, he thought.

In the car, Jeannette further explained their expedition. "I want to get the mani pedi but I also wanted to see if you are interested in doing any shopping for this evening. I'm sure you have something lovely, but just in case, I wanted you to have an opportunity to look around."

Teresa laughed. "Actually, this morning I was looking at the dress I had thought to wear tonight and while I really like it, it's beginning to be too much my 'go to' dress."

"Do you have an idea where you would like to look?"

"Cho told me about a shop downtown that his mother visited when she was here and liked a lot so I thought of stopping there this week but I never got around to it," Teresa explained.

Jeannette was naturally skeptical. "Your boss Cho? You ask him about dresses?"

"Cho's mother apparently is quite the seamstress and while growing up he helped her."

Seeing her aunt's continuing doubtful expression, Teresa told the story of his help when shopping for a wedding dress. "I had no time so I had to buy off-the-rack. I also didn't know what would look good on me for a wedding, I needed someone who has known me for a while, and the only one, other than Patrick, was Cho. He was willing and, boy, did he save me from some big mistakes. As I recall, one dress made me look short, another like a pink snow cone, but the best criticism came on the last dress the sales clerk selected. He said I looked like a 'slutty elf.'"

Jeannette burst out with laughter and howled with it as they drove down the road. "Oh my word. I've never heard anyone described like that before and I certainly would never think of you that way. It sounds so- vulgar."

Teresa laughed, too, and shrugged. "Cho likes to get straight to the point. He's the one that explained what I needed and I was so pleased with the dress."

Jeannette had seen the wedding photos and agreed that Teresa was a beautiful bride. It was still hard to fathom the depths of one Kimball Cho. She shook her head, "Some woman is going to be very blessed someday."

Teresa agreed and proceeded to direct Aunt Jeannette to the dress shop.

That evening while Teresa finished getting ready in the bedroom, Patrick talked with the babysitting team as Jeannette helped him with his bow tie. She thought to herself that it was a good thing the couple was happily married because any woman seeing him in that tuxedo was going to want to, well, she wouldn't go any farther with that thought but he was definitely looking extremely handsome. The cut was classic and she suspected that he had had it custom tailored. With his switchable green blue eyes and managed yet tousled curling locks he looked like a Hollywood star from a bygone time.

"There. Now that's a proper bow tie," Jeannette said as she finished and then smoothed the fabric of the jacket over his shoulders. "You look very well, nephew."

He smiled and gave her hug while saying quietly, "Thank you, Aunt Jeannette."

She looked beyond him and caught sight of her gorgeous niece coming out of the bedroom and her jaw dropped. She had seen Teresa try on the dress this afternoon but with makeup, hair, and accessories together she was still impressed by the glamorous looking woman. She pulled back from Patrick and smiled at him saying, "I think your date is ready."

He turned around and only through Cho's encouragement did he remember to breathe. Here stood the woman he loved for longer than he had ever realized; the woman he had almost lost to another man; the woman who was the mother of his child. They had been married for a year and she still mesmerized him.

Jeannette sighed and smiled at her while Cho smiled and nodded his approval. Finally, Patrick found his voice and unknowingly said the same thing to her then as he had said when he first saw her in her wedding dress the year before. "Wow."

Her smile slightly triumphant, Teresa gave a pleased, "Thank you."

Jeannette decided that if she ever needed advice on her wardrobe she was definitely calling FBI Supervisory Agent Kimball Cho. The dress chosen appeared to be made just for Teresa. The gown was a green as dark as the forest before sunset and made of a soft silk that clung to her every curve and hung straight to the floor with a slit at the left side that went almost to her hip. The bodice had a plunging neckline that dropped deeply between her breasts and the straps narrowed to slightly less than an inch in width at the shoulders. With her hair up in a soft chignon her skin served as an added accessory to the necklace she always wore containing her mother's cross and her husband's ring along with the teardrop emerald earrings Patrick had given her after Clara was born. Around her, she had a black wrap to keep out the chill of evening and keep out the cold since the dress also plunged in back to her waist.

The couple's appearance- his blonde handsomeness and her brunette beauty- only made one wonder how they could have resisted each other for as many years as they did.

Jeannette whipped her phone out of her pocket and insisted on taking a picture. "This is something that Clara will love to have when she's grown."

As the couple was leaving, Jeannette said sotto voce to Patrick, "I'll be making omelets for breakfast."

He winked knowing that she knew where they were having dinner and what he had done the day before and escorted his wife to the car.

Inside the house the agent and the aunt looked at each and smiled before Jeannette turned serious and frowned, "Now we can get down to the serious matters of the evening. I hope you have as much taste in old movies as you do in clothing, Cho. Because that's going to be what you enjoy this evening while I trounce you at the table."

Cho gave a happy laugh and said, "How does a marathon of Thin Man movies sound to someone who better think twice about bragging?"

She smiled back and it suddenly struck Cho how much Teresa looked like her aunt. "Let the games begin."


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Patrick had made dinner reservations at the finest restaurant in town. Magellan's overlooked downtown Austin from the top of the Bellamy Hotel. The ambiance was classic with beautiful dark leather chairs, dark wood tables, and deep red drapes at the enormous windows. Each table had candlelight, fine glassware and bone china. The dance floor was a black and white marble and there was a full orchestra playing big band and American standards.

The Janes had enjoyed the dancing and most of their dinner when they came back to the table after "They Can't Take That Away From Me," and saw dessert awaiting them. Teresa reached into her evening bag for the envelope that she had placed in it before they left the house. Earlier in the day, she had given him the pair of hand carved mallards that represented the couple that swam in the pond and he loved them. This gift she wasn't sure would have the same reaction, so she had waited until they were both more relaxed. However, if Teresa had been less nervous she might have noticed that he was toying with dessert in distracted manner, but all she could do was concentrate on what she was about to hand him.

After the waiter came by to check on them, she took a deep breath and said, "Patrick, I have one more gift for you."

He looked slightly startled and came out of his thoughts enough to realize that she seemed very tense. He cocked his head slightly and waited.

She pulled a folded envelope from her lap and handed it to him. He opened it and inside was a bank statement. As he started to read it, she began explaining, "I know what this must look like and I can explain."

She stopped and took a sip of wine before she went back to wringing the napkin in her lap. Patrick was looking through the statement making it easier to speak because she didn't have to look into his piercing eyes.

"After you came back to the U.S., I should have told you about this, I know, and I meant to. I kept waiting for the right time and when the time was right, something would happen and I couldn't do it. The night we were in that house, running your sting operation on the art theft ring? I was going to talk to you that night, but you fell asleep on the couch. I was going to tell you when we were in Islamorada but then everything changed so many times and so fast. And everything kept changing and I would remember it and start to tell you and, well …"

She drifted off and stared at him until he finally looked up from the paperwork in his hands. Her eyes appeared large and he saw a small bit of fear. It appeared that this had been eating at her. After she had screwed up her courage to this moment, he couldn't tell her that he had seen last month's statements in Cho's office a few weeks ago. Instead, he asked the questions he still had.

"Where did this come from?"

"Well, it started as your bank account at Sac National Bank. Then I had my name added to the account and later I moved it to protect it," Teresa explained in a general way knowing that he would want and need more information.

"How? When? Why?" He could see the account history but it seemed a very distant memory.

Teresa had thought about this explanation for a long time and had memorized every word she wanted to say, but now she couldn't remember any of it.

"I think I can explain the 'when' first. I was concerned about your future finances around the time that Homeland Security became interested in our cases. I knew, basically, what you planned and I also knew the possible repercussions," she stopped and looked up at him.

Patrick said nothing. He knew what she wasn't saying. She had known that he intended to kill Red John and didn't care if he was caught or not. Originally, the reasons for killing him had only been about revenge and Patrick had not cared what happened to himself. However, over the years, as he and Teresa developed such a deep partnership, it had also been the only way he might protect her and the other people he cared about. If he didn't kill Red John, Red John was absolutely going to kill the most important person in Patrick's life, no matter how hard the consultant tried to hide what she meant to him.

He finally nodded and continued to listen. She began again feeling less nervous as he didn't seem angry.

"I know and understand that the money has never been that important to you. It's a means of getting what you need and helping those around you. That's noble," she smiled at him and he almost felt like Robin Hood. Almost.

"Since I knew that you had escaped prison before it wasn't a long stretch of the imagination to assume that if you were arrested for Red John's murder, and if you were in jail awaiting trial, you might decide to escape. Either for a life elsewhere or if you were going to be able to defend yourself, I knew it would cost money; and if a federal agency like Homeland or the FBI was involved they would seize all your assets. Therefore, I decided to find a way to protect what I could get my hands on."

She once again stopped. She appeared to be waiting for him to say something. Her explanation was bringing many ugly times back but it was the first time that she had shared with him this much of what she had experienced in a day-to-day way and he was fascinated. By unspoken agreement, they rarely mentioned some of the darker moments of their past. They had lived through it together and they had survived. They were both stronger for it and their love was stronger than any force they could imagine. That was all that seemed important. In time, they would probably have to revisit it. Clara was bound to find out someday and they would need to be ready to explain it all.

She continued to wait for him to speak and he asked another brief question that had been on his mind since Cho had showed him the statements.

"How? How did you hold on to this?"

"It wasn't easy," she laughed quietly. "Actually, I got some help on the logistics from Aunt Jeannette. She went with me to a very hypothetical meeting with an attorney. Basically, you cashed out your existing account, signed over your paycheck to me and I deposited it in an account with my name as principal and yours as secondary. Then I had a new debit card issued to you with the same pin number."

She watched his face and read the amazement and maybe even a dawning respect at her talents as a con artist.

"But wait a second. Didn't you need my signature on more than one document?" He laughed. "Are you telling me you were forging it?"

She smiled in a superior way. "No, I never forged your signature. You signed every one of the documents. It wouldn't have worked if forgeries were discovered."

He loved the look on her face. It was the one she always got when he was confused and she wasn't. "Are you saying that I signed all the paperwork without noticing? Oh, Teresa, please." He was practically scoffing at the notion.

Her grin got a bit more triumphant yet sinister. "You never have enjoyed the paperwork side of what we do, have you."

He frowned and started, "You mean-"

She nodded, the light catching her emerald earrings making them sparkle, "Yes, Patrick Jane, I discovered early on that you would sign practically anything if I said I would fill it out for you."

He was impressed. There were few people who had ever surprised him and she seemed to find endless ways of achieving that goal. It was his turn to nod. "My amazing Teresa- as clever as she is beautiful."

She ducked her head modestly. "Thank you, my love."

He shook his head again. "This is incredible. You are incredible. You were always trying to protect me from myself as much as from others."

Her smile turned a bit wry, "Someone had to do it."

He nervously cleared his throat and said, "And now it's my turn to confess something to you."

He handed her a small packet of documents that she unfolded and began to skim. It was her turn to frown and look confused. At a quick glance, these were very similar to the ones she had given him minutes ago, but there seemed to be many more zeros.

"I want you to know that I was not hiding this from you. I know it may come as a shock but I, too, can explain," he said and adding much more quietly, "I hope."

As she began to comprehend what she held in her hands, she went back to the beginning and looked at them more carefully. Her mouth opened slightly but no words emerged. She looked up at her husband and he couldn't decide if she was shocked, angry, confused, or combination of all three. He decided to wait for her to speak.

"Patrick, what is this?" Teresa shook her head. "I don't understand this. These appear to be MORE bank statements but I've never seen or heard of these accounts."

"That's because they're accounts that I've had for well over fifteen years," he answered quietly.

She looked again at the papers in her hands and stated, "I'm going to need an explanation for this."

He took a deep breath and nodded. "I told you once that Angela grew increasingly uncomfortable with my work. She wanted me to stop. She was sure I would get in trouble and we would end up having to flee in the night, so she decided to hide money and investments that we could have if her worst case scenario occurred."

They both knew that something worse than fleeing the police called by an angry mark had happened. He had angered a serial killer.

He began again. "I've been lucky enough to fall in love and marry two beautiful and very smart women. You took care of me, making sure I didn't go to prison and even managed to hold on to the money I made after I came to the CBI. Angela managed to squirrel away as much as she could from my psychic days."

Teresa listened to him and worked on coming to terms with the numbers she saw on the paper. Angela had indeed been one very smart businesswoman. Still, she wasn't sure she understood how there could be that much.

"But the FBI- they subpoenaed and seized everything you owned. I managed to keep the account from Sac National because I could prove that I was making the deposits. If I withdrew anything, they would have traced it immediately. How? I don't understand."

"When Angela decided to do this, she interviewed and checked the backgrounds of a number of accountants. Any slight flaw she viewed as a big red flag. Growing up, we had always been taught never trust anyone with the cashbox. She finally found someone with no red flags. His name is Gorman Hartley. He's an accountant who grew up in Utah, raised in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and moved to the Cayman Islands with his wife who got a job managing a resort there. He maintains and grows funds for investors who earn them legally but want to shelter them from higher taxes. If for some reason, the investor has a problem with the federal government, the funds are protected from seizure for as long as the principle remains there."

Teresa shook head and then pressed her fingers to her temple as if it would help her absorb everything he was saying. "Patrick, I thought we had agreed that you didn't have to wait to tell me things anymore. Why haven't you said something before this?"

He reached out and took her hand. "I'm sorry. I meant to tell you and started to more than once, but as you said earlier we got interrupted."

He stopped to let her speak but when she just stared at him he continued, "Frankly, when I first got back to the U.S., I didn't even know if this still existed. I had assumed that everything was gone. Then a couple months after I was back, I got a call from Gorman. He had been trying to track me down for some time. He said that the accounts were still there and that at some point we would have to go over everything but in the meantime, did I have anyone I wanted to list as the beneficiary and I gave him your name."

He continued to stroke imaginary patterns on the back of her hand and shrugged, "I guess in my mind I sort of set it aside as something that was now yours and didn't think about it anymore."

"Jane, how in the world could you do that? I mean," she looked down at the figures again. "This is a LOT of money."

He grimaced. "I never actually paid attention to the total amount. Yeah, I knew that Angela had invested quite a bit, but Gorman had maintained and grown the funds a lot more, too. If I had known how very big it was, I would have said something sooner."

Part of her wanted to scream at him because he had done it to her again. Just when she thought he couldn't carelessly-not-mention something anymore, he found a new way. But her inner voice forced her to look at the dates on the papers that he had given her and she realized that his contact with the accountant had occurred while she was still dating Marcus. He wouldn't have said anything to her then for fear she would think he was trying to buy her. The part that stunned her was that he would have given her all this money without her knowing it while she was possibly married to another man.

Another part of her mind worried about why he was telling her about this now as a specter from their past looming on the horizon. He had insisted on protecting her before but she wasn't going to let him get away with it again.

She sat back and sighed. "Well, I guess I can't really be too angry with you for not telling me about this since I was hiding a financial secret from you. Although, now my secret pales in comparison."

She gave a wry chuckle that he acknowledged with a small shrug. She looked at him for a moment then asked the burning question she had. "So what do you want to do now?"

Jane looked closely at his wife. She hated being manipulated and he never wanted to make her feel that way. He had what he thought was a great idea but he wasn't sure that she was ready to hear all of it.

He shook his head. "Nothing. I don't think we need to do anything about this right now. I guess I just want you to know that we have security if we should need it. That's all."

She watched him closely and decided that he was telling the truth. He may have thought of things they could do with the money and she would guess that most involved her leaving the FBI. He had never kept it a secret that as their love grew; his fear of losing her on the job also grew. He had found ways of coping with it but she knew it was still there. Still, she trusted him to respect her wishes in this and he had.

Teresa inhaled deeply at let it out in a sigh. "Okay. Since everything appears to be in order, I suppose we can let it be for now. If you feel good about this... Gorman Hartley, then I do, too."

Jane gave a quick nod and a big sigh of relief. "Excellent. Somehow, I think we're safe with Gorman the Mormon. If he was going to steal this, he could have done it more easily before now and I would never have known."

Teresa laughed softly, "Well, I think it's safe to say that this is anniversary we won't forget."

He picked up her hand and gave it a courtier's kiss before holding it in both of his. "I am so glad you got off that plane to DC. There may have been a few dark moments since then, but nothing compares to all the joy you've given me."

Her eyes grew moist, but still she teased him in a low voice, "It took you long enough. Now why don't you sign the bill and take me up to our room."

His eyes widened and he raised his eyebrows in a silent question.

It was her turn to scoff at him. "Oh, please, Jane. You take me to dinner at a gorgeous restaurant that just happens to be on the top floor of a beautiful hotel when we have not one, but two, babysitters with Clara- and one of them is the head of a special unit of the FBI. You made it easier than the Dewey Decimal Code on Islamorada."

He chuckled as he looked around to catch their waiter's eye. "Lisbon, I'll have you know I put a lot of work into creating that clue."

They could laugh about it now, but at the time he almost blew any shot he had with her. How could he have thought that she would ever tolerate being maneuvered?

Jane signed his name and room number to the bill and the couple left the restaurant. In the elevator, Teresa leaned on her husband, gently stroking his back while he kept his arm around her shoulder.

The doors were about to close when they heard a woman's voice squealing, "Hold the elevator!"

Jane pressed the "Doors Open" button and waited for the obviously inebriated three women and man step in. The women were young, mid-twenties. The two doing the most giggling were tall, blonde, and shapely while the third drunk female- who appeared to be with the man- was petite and brunette.

The man stood slightly turned away from the Janes but he seemed to be twenty to twenty-five years older than his companions were. He had slightly stringy dark blonde hair that came to his shoulders and wore a Fedora. He had a beard that was moderately well kept and seemed to be designed to hide what was the edge of a scar that was slightly visible on the side of his neck. He was a few inches taller than Patrick but thinner in build. He kept his head turned towards the brunette as he continued to whisper in her ear and she giggled.

Jane asked what floor the group wanted and one of the blondes answered, "Umm. Five?"

She looked at the second blonde who stopped sipping the drink that she had brought with her from the bar and replied, "Well, duh! That's where the rooms are!"

This witty repartee brought another huge fit of giggles from the two and they collapsed onto each other and then back onto the couple behind them.

Jane pushed "5" and the elevator moved two floors and stopped to let on an older couple who appeared to be discussing a lecture that had just left in one of the conference rooms. They stepped in between the foursome from the bar and the Janes and requested the third floor before continuing to whisper to each other about the pros and cons of various genealogy charts.

The elevator continued its slow progress and all was quiet except for the drunken giggles and whispers from the back corner of the elevator. At the tenth floor, the doors opened and the Janes stepped off. Behind them, the older couple sighed at the beautiful couple and moved further away from the young women- and what they thought of as a lecherous older man.

Patrick led Teresa down the hall. He was confident that everything was set up. He pulled the keycard from his jacket pocket, inserted it and held the door open for his wife to step into the room.

As he put the "Do Not Disturb" sign on the door and closed the locks he heard her gasp. He turned around and saw that she had stopped and was staring at the room. He looked over her shoulder while taking off his jacket and was pleased. They had followed his instructions to the letter.

A vase filled with wildflowers to remind them of their "sylvan themed" wedding was on the dresser across from the bed. It was flanked by candles that the maid had lit upon getting the signal that the couple was on their way down from the restaurant, and white and blush pink orchid petals were strewn across the bedspread. Next to the terrace door stood a table with more candles and a two filled champagne flutes and an ice bucket with the bottle that had obviously just been opened. The drapes were open and the view from the terrace showed the city and the lake sparkling from the city lights and the moon's glow.

Teresa knew it was to remind her of their wedding night and it did. That night they had left after the reception and driven about two hours to a resort. While she was in the bathroom changing, Jane had set out candles and sprinkled extra petals that weren't used at the wedding across the bed. She had been thrilled with his romantic gesture then just as she was now.

She turned and put her arms around him. "You are the most romantic person I have ever known. Thank you so much."

She gave him a gentle but firm kiss that he returned before slipping back and taking her hand to lead her through the room to the terrace. She looked out at the city as he picked up the flutes and brought them to her.

He raised his glass as he looked into her eyes and toasted, "Here is to the woman who believed in me when I couldn't see the future or imagine an end to darkness. You have honored me with your love and trust and brought me back to life. When I think I can't love you more, a new day begins and I find my love has grown again. Happy anniversary, Teresa."

They clinked glasses and sipped. Teresa's eyes were sparkling with unshed tears of happiness. She held up her glass and said, "And to you, Patrick. You showed me that the world really is infinite in possibilities and always wanted only my happiness. You have made me more joyful and more complete in my life than I ever thought possible. I can't remember my life without you in it."

They touched glasses again and sipped more champagne as they enjoyed the comfortable night. Finally, Teresa turned to him and said, "I think it's time for me to say something very cliché."

"'Not now I've got a headache'?" He teasingly guessed.

Her smile was sultry as she shook her head and leaning close to him whispered, "No, it's 'Excuse me, while I slip into something more comfortable.'"

She trailed her hand across his shoulder as she walked back into the room to pick up her "go bag" that she had noticed when she first walked in. Her smart husband knew that as an FBI agent she always had to be ready in case she had to stay out somewhere. It contained the basic essentials for an overnight stay.

She took the bag into the bathroom and checked. Yes, he had grabbed the bag and added a nightgown that was sexier than she would have normally included, plus other toiletries that as an observant husband he knew she preferred. She shook her head in amazement at his thoroughness and started to pull the nightgown out when she suddenly stopped. No, she had a more interesting idea.

Patrick came in from the terrace and closed the slider. He removed tie and was starting to unbutton his shirt when he heard Teresa come out of the bathroom. He turned and saw that she had put one of the big fluffy robes that came with the room. It completely covered the lingerie. He was glad he had closed the terrace door.

As she slowly walked towards him, she thanked him for remembering her favorite things to put her bag. "You remembered everything."

He his grinned and his eyes narrowed slightly as he watched her move. "I'm glad you're happy."

She shrugged slightly as she stopped an arm's length away from him and said, "Well, really I think you overdid it a bit."

"Really? How?" He was curious.

She tugged the belt loose from the robe and let it drop. "I think the lingerie would just get in the way, don't you?"

He opened his arms and pulled her close, one hand caressing her back while the other ran down her side and back up. He breathed deeply taking in the smell of her perfume and feeling all her curves coming against him.

"I believe you may be right. I'll remember that next time," he said as he lowered his head to kiss her.

"I'm sure you will," she responded right before their lips met.

He had worked quickly but still maintained his focus even though it was incredibly hard. The excitement was coursing through his veins. Granted, it wasn't as much fun as he had hoped but he didn't want to test the limits of the "soundproof room" feature. Was it wrong that he could not stop smiling?

Usually good habits are easy to break and bad ones take forever. However, because the reward was always so precious, Teresa was wide-awake at 5:54 A.M. Since bringing her daughter home from the hospital, she had awakened without an alarm clock each morning at the same time. First, it was because Clara's crying woke her, but as the child slept in longer amounts, Teresa's eyes still sprang open at that time.

Now she was snuggled to her husband's side and thought about the night they had just shared. He had definitely decided to take advantage of one interesting feature of the hotel- the soundproofing. It was nice to know that when they had the opportunity they could make each completely crazy.

Still, while the night had been amazing and she would not trade the memory for anything, she did feel something was missing. She knew what it was and she decided that Patrick would feel the same way, so she quietly slipped out of bed and picked up the robe that she had dropped on the floor last night. Slightly stumbling over her husband's trousers that were right where they had landed when she had flung them over her shoulder, she went into the bathroom, closed the door and turned on the light.

She opened Patrick's bag and found what she was looking for- a tea bag. She went through the "travel" ritual as she knew it for making Patrick's morning tea and returned to bed. She could tell that he was starting to come out of deep sleep and placed the cup where he would be able to smell the aroma.

As he inhaled and stretched, she smiled gently and said, "Good morning, Patrick."

He opened his eyes and looked up at his lover. The predawn light could not hide her beauty or her radiant smile. He knew he had helped put that smile on her face and it made him proud, strong, and yet humble to know how much she loved him. She gave him her entire trust and love and he knew he was a very lucky man.

She put the cup down on the nightstand along with the coffee cup she had made for herself and leaned down to give him a sweet kiss before he returned her greeting.

"Good morning, sweetheart," he replied as he sat up and took a sip of his tea.

They were quiet for a few minutes although she continued to stroke his upper arm and shoulder while he ran his hand up and down her thigh. She also continued to smile at him as she told him, "Last night was wonderful, Patrick."

He grinned in response. "I thought so, too. The chef did a terrific job with the trout and your chicken looked excellent."

She giggled. "Yes, dinner was great, as was the wine and the dancing, but I was talking about all of it- the entire night- with you."

"Ohhh," he said innocently. "Well, I must say, Mrs. Jane, you did make it a night I'll never forget."

She leaned down to give him another kiss. "I want to tell you that because I have to confess something."

His eyebrows rose, "I thought we had confession last night."

She reached a hand out and ran it down the side of his face. "Yes, we did and it's not like that."

"Sooo?"

She leaned close and whispered, "I miss Clara."

His grinned widened. "Ahhh. I see. Well, I have to confess, I do, too."

"Really?"

"Naturally. I especially love watching the two of you together in the morning."

She scrunched her nose and asked, "Would it be awful if I said I wanted to go home and try to get there before she's completely awake?"

He looked at the bedside clock. "If we take a quick shower, we should just make it."

Patrick and Teresa had called for the car as they were getting in the shower. Granted, showering together does take a little longer than when they each shower separately, but they were still checked-out, in the car, and heading home within 45 minutes.

The Janes arrived home and entered the house as quietly as possible. However, they found their boss already awake and reading the paper while Aunt Jeannette was in the kitchen starting breakfast. Both looked to the couple and smiled, unsurprised by their early return.

"Good morning," Teresa said as she walked in. "Is Clara awake yet?"

Jeannette smiled at her niece. She knew this was the first night that Teresa had spent away from her little girl and had expected this early return. "I think she's just beginning to move around."

"Great!" Teresa responded and turned to Cho giving him a quick greeting as she quietly walked to her daughter's room.

Patrick carried their overnight bags into the bedroom and set them on the bed next to Jeannette's duffle bag that she had left there. He came back out and spoke to the babysitters. They appeared rested. Cho must have sacked out on the couch while Jeannette took their room.

"Everything went well?" He asked.

Cho looked up from the paper and gave his small smile. "My Goddaughter was perfect. However, your wife's aunt is a card shark and I can't wait to see the day that the two of you play poker together."

Jeannette shrugged but seemed quietly pleased with herself. "It's amazing the skills one picks up at rainy house parties."

Jane laughed before joining Teresa in their daughter's room. Clara had awakened only minutes before the parents came home.

"Good morning, little girl," Teresa said gently as she leaned down and kissed her daughter's head. Clara responded with a squeal of delight.

Teresa was lifting her daughter out of bed and taking her to the changing table as Jane came up to greet his daughter. The couple spent the next fifteen minutes talking to her and telling her about the flowers they had seen on their drive home this morning before Cho popped his head in the door to tell them that Jeannette had breakfast ready, including a bottle.

The group ate breakfast together laughing over Cho's disastrous round of cards against Jeannette and telling stories about other nights spent playing cards. When the meal was over, Jeannette and Cho insisted that they could take care of cleaning the kitchen while Teresa and Patrick took care of Clara.

It was as Cho finished wiping down the counter that his phone rang. Recognizing the caller, he excused himself and went outside to take the call. When he came back in, he joined the group sitting around the living room enjoying the early Sunday morning and the antics of the baby in the playpen blowing bubbles and playing with her feet.

Jane was always sensitive to changes in moods and even though almost no one else in the world would have noticed a difference in Cho, he did. However, he knew that Cho probably would not want to discuss it now so he let it go. Still, he wasn't surprised when moments later Cho said, "Well, guys I'm glad you had a great anniversary and as much as I love spending time with Clara, I have to head out."

Teresa asked, "Are you sure?"

Cho sighed as he stood, "Yeah, I have to run some errands today."

He picked up his bag and after walking over to the playpen to whisper farewell to Clara, he walked to the door. "Jeannette, I want a rematch."

Jeannette laughed and nodded, "Anytime you wish another lesson, young man, let me know."

Jane walked him out to the car, thanking him for helping with Clara. "We really do appreciate it everything you've done for Clara. We couldn't have asked for a better godfather for her."

Cho gave a rare and genuine smile, "She's sweet and I never mind helping."

Jane agreed. However, he turned more serious as he leaned into the car window and asked, "Were you thinking of sending us an email this evening requesting both of us to be sure to be in the office in the morning?"

Cho gave a long sigh. "Yeah. I haven't seen all the information yet, so I don't want to go into yet, but you might as well plan on coming tomorrow morning."

Jane nodded and let him drive off. He stood in side yard and took a deep breath. He was determined to enjoy this day.

Jeannette sat and talked with Teresa and Patrick for another hour or so before she pulled herself out of the chair announcing that it was time for her to leave. "Like Cho, I have a number of things that I need to get done today."

Lisbon stood as her aunt stood, "Ah, do you have to?"

Jeannette smiled and gave her a hug, "Oh, sweet one, yes I do. And after I leave the three of you can spend a quiet lazy Sunday together."

Teresa pouted briefly but understood. Jane went into the bedroom and retrieved Jeannette's overnight bag. Jane gave Jeannette a big hug and thanked her for all her help and Teresa walked her out to her car.

"Thank you so much for giving us the chance to have last night," Teresa said as her aunt got in the car.

Jeannette gave a sly grin and said, "I'm guessing everything went, ahem, well?"

Teresa bit her lip to keep her grin from breaking her face. "Yes, it did. I think we're in a very good place now."

Jeannette laughed, "See? I told you it would all work out."

She waved as she put the car in drive and left.

Teresa watched the car drive down the lane before she turned and went back into the house where she, Jane, and Clara did have a quiet lazy day together. It wasn't until later in the night, after they had put Clara down that Patrick told her that they needed to make sure the diaper bag was ready for the morning.

The way he said it, she knew that it was work. "Did Cho give any details?"

Jane shook his head. "No, he just said that we should both be there in the morning."

That night the couple didn't sleep quite as well as the night before but they did stay in each other arms.

 **Thank you, kind person, for gently pointing out the boneheaded mistake I made. Sorry, everyone. It should be correct now.**

 **Cheers! ~~ Archijenn**


	15. Chapter 15

**Dear readers: I apologize for the lengthy delay in continuing this story. The problem started when I was very overworked and was spending many hours at work. Unfortunately, all the hours spent at my desk were for naught and my job was eliminated in July. I have since been trying to come to terms with my changed circumstances and wanted to be in a better frame of mind before I returned to this. Now the muses have begun speaking to me again and I feel I can start writing for pleasure again. Once more, I'm sorry for the delays and I thank you for your patience.**

 **Cheers! ~~ Archijenn**

 **P.S.: I still don't own this characters, but I miss them so much that I have to continue to play with them. ;-)**

Chapter 15

With Clara safely in the FBI daycare, Jane and Lisbon arrived in the bullpen where they were told to go to Cho's office. Lisbon tossed her bag at her desk and caught up with her husband and they arrived at the office together.

"Boss, what's up?" Lisbon asked.

Cho looked up at them and said, "Have a seat."

They sat down in chairs facing the desk and waited; neither one giving away much in their faces.

Cho took a deep breath and said, "We now have a serial killer who is mimicking Red John."

Lisbon's shoulders dropped a bit and a crease started to form between Jane's eyes as he asked, "In what ways?"

Cho leaned back in the chair. "He's painting a smiley face on the wall in the victim's blood, using a linoleum knife, and recreating the same cutting patterns."

"But there are differences," Jane knew that they wouldn't be as sure as he was that it was a copycat if everything was exactly the same.

Cho nodded, "Yes. As you saw in the other photographs, he creates the smiley face and then wipes it off the wall again. He's also not as interested in having you see the symbol first and will sometimes hide it at the crime scene."

He passed them examples to see what he was talking about.

"How… many?" Lisbon asked slowly while skimming through the photos that Jane passed on to her.

"So far, we know of six- four women and two men," Cho answered and waited to see if they would ask him more questions.

They did not. They looked up from the photographs and returned his stare. He knew that they had been hoping that this wouldn't go beyond what he had already told them a few weeks ago and that they were trying to come to grips with it. However, Cho didn't have time to give them. He needed to stop this serial and he needed his best people to do that. They were the best.

"As you know," he continued, "I sent Tork and Wylie to the law enforcement conference in St. Louis. That's how we found out about all of these victims. They have gathered everything they've been given so far, and brought back a few guests. We're all meeting in the conference room in about twenty minutes."

"Okay," Jane acknowledged as he and Lisbon left the office. By unspoken agreement they walked to the breakroom. He made a cup of tea while she got herself a cup of coffee. Neither one spoke while they fixed their beverages. Without being aware of it, they each took their first sip at the same time and turned to each other.

"Do you think this could be one of Red John's disciples? I mean, I know the Blake Society's basically gone, but we know that there were people in his organization outside law enforcement. Could that be who's behind this?" Lisbon asked her partner.

He seemed to think about what she said before answering. "I'm not sure. It's very possible, and I don't think we can dismiss it, but I'm more intrigued by why the symbol is wiped off."

They fell silent again, both lost in their thoughts. After a few minutes they walked to the center conference room, or "fish bowl," as Lisbon not so lovingly referred to it.

Already waiting for them were Tork, Wylie, and a man in a sheriff's department uniform. Wylie and the man worked on laptops while Tork pulled photographs from one of several record storage boxes sitting on one end of the table. All three looked up when the couple opened the door.

"Welcome back, Wylie, Tork," Teresa said as Jane nodded to each and looked at the third man who was now standing.

"Thanks, guys," Wylie acknowledged before making the introductions. "Deputy Calvin Sutton, this is Agent Teresa Lisbon and Consultant Patrick Jane."

The three shook hands and Wylie explained, "Cal's a deputy in Daviess County Indiana. A woman was killed with what appears to be the same M.O. He found Tork and I at the conference and brought his case records here for us to examine."

Everyone sat down again and made small talk until Cho came in.

"Okay," the supervisor said as he sat down with his notebook and pulled out a pen. "Let's get this started. Tork, why don't you explain to Jane and Lisbon the overview of what you did at the conference."

Tork nodded and gave them an outline of their activities. "Over the course of the event, I think we got through every department and unit that was there. There were some cases that we were able to dismiss immediately as not fitting the pattern at all and others that we're still considering."

"Cho said that there are six definites?" Lisbon asked.

Wylie brought up a map on the room's large screen featuring red dots across the U.S. "Yes. It looks like he started out west in Nevada and worked his way northeast until after Indiana when he went back west again."

"What do we know about the victims?" Jane asked while sipping his tea.

Tork handed the consultant the background files on the six victims as he explained, "The first victim- that we know of- was a man named Pierce Thornton. He was an accountant and he was found dead in his home office. The wounds are consistent with other victims but the smiley face wasn't right. We think he's evolved with his signature."

Jane looked at a photo of an area on the wall where someone had smeared blood on the wall and then wiped it off. The image created by the luminal was much cruder and almost impossible to recognize as the signature of the man that Jane had hunted for over ten years. As he looked at it, he said, "I wonder if he really started to make the face or if he was trying to do something else and changed it."

Lisbon leaned over to the picture he had held up. She cocked her head from one side to the other. He was right. "It looks like he started to write something and changed his mind and the only way to cover it was to draw something else."

Wylie who was putting commentary notes with each case in a digital file that they could all see, began typing and nodded to Tork to continue with the next victim. Everyone would receive more detailed information in files today, but for now Cho had wanted everyone to get an overview of all the cases at once. It was the way Lisbon had run her briefings: give everyone the basic facts, let them study, then come together again to brainstorm.

Tork handed out the next file. "The next victim is Nathan Mosely in Boulder Colorado. Dr. Mosely had a Ph.D. in forensic science and ran a lab that freelanced with law enforcement across the country. His administrative assistant found his body on a Monday morning. Tests show that he was killed sometime the previous Friday evening. The scene showed evidence of a huge struggle- like he surprised a thief- and according to others he employed in the lab, at least 15 cases were compromised."

Jane frowned as he looked at crime scene photos. "No, I disagree. The violence in the room came after Dr. Mosely was killed or greatly incapacitated. If you'll look closely, you'll see that some of the splatter is under some of the paper."

Everyone looked at the photograph and Wylie asked, "Why destroy the lab?"

Lisbon offered, "Maybe he was still angry? Maybe he was looking for something?"

Jane nodded, "Could be."

Tork continued, "Next we have Tiffany Edwards; a bank teller in Freklinger Minnesota. Single and taking evening courses at the community college, she had a couple close friends but no boyfriend and, according to those interviewed, was straight but very shy around men. In the last few weeks of her life, she was skipping class and acting very secretive. She was found in a shack outside of Freklinger. She had been stabbed and slashed repeatedly with a linoleum knife and there was a smiley face on the wall found with luminol. No leads."

Again, the crime scene photos all seemed hauntingly familiar in many ways. Still, something was nagging at Lisbon but she couldn't figure out what it was.

Wylie took over. "Victim number four: Becky Miller. She was a federal records retention clerk at a records repository in Daviess County Indiana. Deputy Sutton can explain the case."

Calvin nodded to Wylie and handed out copies of his file as he explained. "I knew Becky slightly from around the courthouse. She was a sweet young woman who I believe was targeted by her killer. She probably didn't realize until she was dying what kind of guy she was with and never had a chance against him."

Jane and Lisbon read through the file and looked at the murder board and map. It was definitely part of the group. Finally, Lisbon looked at Calvin and asked, "You could have simply made a copy of everything and sent it. Why are you here, Deputy Sutton?"

Calvin had taken some time last night to learn more about this couple that from Tork and Wylie seemed almost mythical in their talents. He had been astounded by what he had found. Individually each was brilliant in their areas of expertise. Together they were even more impressive as a partnership. It was obvious that they were communicating in ways no one else in the room was privy to, so as he looked into her eyes that reminded him of a meadow in spring he knew he had to be completely honest.

"Agent Lisbon, Becky Miller isn't a case file or a set of pictures to me. I was in her house that morning. I knew her. I've met her parents. I told them that I would do everything I could to find out what happened that night and who did this."

Jane still felt he was holding something back. "And that's it? To appease your conscience?"

Calvin turned to the consultant, "Sir, I spent three tours of duty in Iraq. I know that justice isn't all it's cracked up to be and that even when the good guys win it's not enough. I'm not looking for any kind of vindication, just answers."

Lisbon looked at her partner who returned the look then nodded to Wylie. "Carry on."

Wylie continued. "The fifth victim is Alyssa Stoneham. She was a records manager at the federal records repository in Redfield Iowa and the the sixth is Arabella Galloway of Omaha Nebraska. She was a migration specialist at a financial records clearinghouse. Both had all the same hallmarks as the others- the linoleum and the wiped smiley face."

"Any DNA or other trace?" Lisbon asked.

Wylie shook his head. "Nothing in the reports."

Cho decided that they needed to go back to the overview of the case as a whole. There were a few obvious things. "Let's look at what we see at first glance."

Tork was the first to respond, "Half the victims worked with government records and most were women."

Jane was staring at the murder board, his eyes darting back and forth, "Let's go more basic and you can say that they all worked with records."

Lisbon was looking between her notes and the board. Her notes included flash reactions to information. She nodded. "Jane's right. In some way or another, they're professions all dealt with records."

She pointed at the screen and explained. "Federal records, financial records, DNA records."

Jane agreed. "We need to see what the common factor is with these records."

Cho closed his notebook. "Wylie, you and Tork work on figuring out if any records are missing or if there is anything in common with the records; a person, an event, a date, something like that."

He turned to Calvin, "Deputy Sutton, if you want to help Wylie and Tork that would be great. You could also contact your victim's supervisor about assisting with the local inventory."

Finally, as he stood up Cho said to Lisbon and Jane, "I need you two to work out all the scenarios where these records fit together then select the most obvious one or two that we should check on to see if we can figure out where this guy's going next."

With that, he ended the meeting. Tork and Wylie stayed in the conference room to create a plan for their assignment. Calvin went out to Wylie's desk to use the phone to call the records center in Daviess County. Lisbon and Jane walked back to Lisbon's desk area where Jane stretched out on the couch and Lisbon made herself comfortable in her desk chair. She would work on her own scenarios and so would Jane and they would bounce them off each other until the most obvious ones would appear.

 **Author Note:**

 **Hmm. It appears that this killer is more active than we previously thought. Bodies are popping up everywhere. Stay tuned! Cheers! ~~Archijenn**


	16. Chapter 16

**Things are starting to bubble and brew...**

 **Cheers! ~~Archijenn**

Chapter 16

Jeannette had managed to find copies of all the out-of-print books that her customers were requesting. It wasn't easy but her sources in second-hand books were deep and eventually someone always finds something on a top or bottom shelf somewhere. She was now contacting the two customers who were hoping to find first editions. So far, those searches weren't as successful but that wasn't too unusual. These were the ones that took more time. She always made sure that her customers understood that and promised to keep them updated on her efforts.

The second customer was unavailable so she left voice mail explaining what steps she was still taking on his behalf and if he had any questions, he should feel free to call her or email her. As she started to get up from the desk the phone rang. She sat back down thinking it was Mr. Garland calling back and didn't bother to look at the number.

She gave a cheerful "Hello!" to the caller.

"Why hello to you too, dearest Jeannette. So good of you to finally take my call," the man's voice sneered on the other end of the line.

Jeannette slumped in the desk chair and closed her eyes briefly cursing herself for her lack of caution. With a deep sigh she responded, "What do you still want, Bart?"

"What. I. Deserve." the caller enunciated slowly, "You can give me my share of the estate and I will not bother you again."

Jeannette rolled her eyes. "You weren't in the will and you know he didn't want you anywhere near the estate."

She could almost hear his teeth grinding on the other end of the line.

"You think you're so smart. You think you've figured everything out. I will get what is mine," he growled.

"Bart, I tried to save your feelings and that didn't work. I tried to make a clean break and that didn't work. I've given you his letters. You read it for yourself. There's nothing more I can do for you," Jeannette said, her voice growing tired.

"You wanted everything for yourself and you think you've won, but you haven't," he said sounding more angry as he went.

"I didn't win anything. My husband died. If that's your idea of some sort of game, then you really need to seek help."

"Regina was his favorite and he wouldn't have done this," he argued.

"Yes, she was but given what happened, you shouldn't be surprised," she responded.

"I'm going to find a way to prove that you maneuvered all of this. I didn't go to this much trouble only to have a stupid American get in my way. I'm going to do whatever I it takes to get what's mine, no matter what I have to do to you or anyone else who gets in my way," he explained in a voice now deadly cold.

Jeannette's back stiffened and she sat straight up. Whether he realized it or not, he had just taken one step too many. "That's enough! I won't be threatened any longer. Stay away from me or I'll go to the authorities."

He let out a bark of laughter. "Oh, Jeannette, I know you're joking. You don't want the police looking too closely into the old man's death because they might find something that you don't want found."

Jeannette's gripped the phone more tightly. "I didn't do anything wrong and there was nothing sinister about his death. You might have been able to fabricate lies that ALMOST convinced a local inquest but that's as far as you will ever get."

"Really. Well, you never know what might be found- or how it got there. Think about it, Jeannette. I'm willing to let you have your little Texas cottage with the daisies by the porch and the magnolia tree in the back. All I want is what I need to take over Hollylock."

Jeannette would only admit to herself that she was tempted to agree just to get him to leave her alone, but she knew she couldn't. There were other people depending on her. She had to remember them. Bart cared for no one but himself. She was all they had.

"Bart, I won't reconsider and I won't let you threaten me again. Stay away from me or I will make you very sorry," Jeannette finished speaking, her voice firm and cold, and ended the call as she heard Bart shouting more threats.

She sat quietly for a moment looking out the side window where another group of daisies grew beside the coreopsis. Suddenly she realized that Bart had perfectly described the plantings in the front and back of Teresa's cottage. That meant she was right and the person that had tried to break in had been sent by Bart.

But why? He may say he was suspicious but she knew there was nothing in Austin to implicate her in a crime.

"Unless he was having something planted," she concluded.

She got up and walked to the front door making sure it was locked. Then she turned and looked at entry and living room. She thought about where she had seen the prowler. He had been at the front closet. She opened the door and began searching the shelf and the floor. She could not see anything. She then started going through the pockets of the jacket and the coat she had placed there as well as the sweater and jacket that Teresa had left. She found nothing but a tissue, a receipt, and a linty breath mint.

She was sure that the burglar had not managed to get farther into the house when she saw him. Still, if Bart had paid someone once, he might do it again. Or maybe he might decide to try himself. She was going to have to take steps- serious steps.

She chuckled to herself as she looked out the front door and scanned the area for anyone watching. "Luckily this is Texas. Serious steps are much easier here."

She picked up the phone again and dialed. "Hello, Myrtis. If you have some time this morning, could you come over and join me for tea? I think I need your help with my problem. Great. I'll see you then."

She put down the phone, took another look around the cottage, before she went to the kitchen to put on the kettle. She and Myrtis could figure this out. Teresa and Patrick seemed to be preoccupied with something at the office so there was no need to bother them. She would have to tell them everything eventually but for now she could get started with her new friend's help.

About twenty minutes later there was a light rap at the backdoor and a voice calling out, "Yoohoo! Jeannette!"

Jeannette opened the door and invited Myrtis to have a seat. "I've got tea and some lovely biscuits from that nice bakery. Oops. Sorry. I have to get used to calling them cookies again."

Myrtis laughed. "That's alright, dearie. You'll get the hang of it again soon enough."

Myrtis put a couple cookies on her plate and waited for Jeannette to finish pouring the tea before she continued. "Now what is it I can do for you?"

Jeannette smiled. "First, I'll tell you the rest of the story about Bart and then you can help me organize my plan."

Myrtis nodded her agreement and let Jeannette begin talking. She liked Nettie as she had started calling Jeannette and she was happy to help. Besides, this was like being in Murder She Wrote episode!


	17. Chapter 17

**Hi, everyone! Thanks for hanging in there with me as I've been going through a difficult period. I'm so grateful for the kind words of support I've received. I hope you enjoy this update to the story. I had such a big breakthrough in this that I've decided I had to put everything else aside and get it out here.**

 **Thanks again!**

 **Cheers! ~~ archijenn**

Chapter 17

The Janes were picking up Clara from daycare when Teresa's phone started ringing. Handing off the the baby to Patrick, she put the phone on speaker and answered the call. "Hi, Aunt Jeanette."

"Hello, sweet one. How are you and yours today?" She asked.

Teresa sighed, "Well, it's been a long day that's for sure."

"Just as I thought," her aunt responded. "Here's an idea. Why don't you, Patrick, and Clara come here for dinner? You can relax and unwind which will help you sleep better tonight."

Patrick nodded and Teresa confirmed it. "We'd love that, Aunt Jeannette. Do you want us to stop and pick anything up?"

Jeannette told her nothing was necessary and said she would start looking for them within the hour. After she ended the call, she put the lasagne in the oven warm and went into her bedroom. She looked at the gun sitting on her dresser and decided for the evening to put the the weapon in one of the drawers and the bullets in the nightstand. Tomorrow morning she would get the gun safe but this should work for now.

After dinner was finished, Teresa and Patrick insisted on loading the dishwasher, making tea and coffee, and serving dessert while Jeannette played and talked with Clara.

"Aunt Clara, I'm sorry I've been such a terrible hostess," Teresa said as she sat a piece of sponge cake with fresh strawberries on the coffee table by her the cup of tea that Patrick had fixed.

From her position on the floor where she sat with Clara playing with a stuffed frog, Jeannette looked at her beautiful but tired niece and chuckled, "Sweet one, I don't need a tour guide and I understand that you're working and have this precious baby to care for. I'm thrilled to be here and see you all when I do. Besides, I've been working, too, so I would have no reason to chastise you."

Teresa was not soothed of her guilt yet. "Still, you traveled all this way to see me and most of the day you're either here alone or babysitting. That's not a great vacation."

It was time for Jeannette to clear a few things up. She gave a big sigh and stood up with Clara who had grown bored with the frog. Placing the child in the playpen where there were many more interesting tools to grunt at, Jeannette then sat down in a chair where she would have direct eye contact with Teresa and Patrick. She began, "Okay, it's time I said something more about my visit."

Her shoulders slumped ever so slightly as she continued, "After Benedict died I was very busy settling estate matters and- other issues. My friends and his came and helped when they could and tried to spend time with me. However, there came a point when most of the work was done and friends had to go back to living their lives. That meant they were traveling and going places and I was alone."

She stopped and took a fortifying sip of tea then picked up her cake and started picking at it with the fork. She began again, "Benedict never had children of his own but he had a brother who had a son and daughter. He cared about them a great deal and they used to visit quite a bit. However, the last few years Martin- the nephew- moved to Aberdeen Scotland and rarely had time to come down. Regina- the daughter- well, there was an accident and she's in a long term care facility now. For the first time since I arrived in England I felt really alone. Yes, I had my little bookshop but that had become much more lucrative as an online business than brick and mortar, and the genealogical research I was doing for people was also something I could do from anywhere. The only thing keeping me there was the estate and since Benedict and I trust the manager implicitly, most anything I needed to do could also be done from anywhere. When I realized that, I decided to do a bit of traveling -which I've done- until I determined what I wanted to do next. Coming here was part of the travel and part of the decision-making process. I wanted to see if any of my family needed me. I discovered that none of you do."

"What? No, Aunt Jeannette, you're wrong! We all need you!" Teresa protested.

Jeannette smiled, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean that the way it sounded."

Patrick, who had been quiet and observing to this point, helped clarify, "Teresa, I think what your aunt means is that she wanted find out if any of her family needed her help with their families or problems and if they did she would have stopped traveling and stepped in. Is that it?"

Jeannette gave Patrick a grateful look and nodded, "Yes, exactly. I'm so proud of all of you. You're leading interesting and full lives that you have chosen for yourselves and you're all basically happy. You did a great job with your brothers. It makes me feel so happy."

Teresa was feeling more confused. "That doesn't mean you're leaving, does it? I still want to spend more time with you."

If ever a niece warmed an aunt's heart it was with those words. Jeannette smiled softly. "No, I'm not leaving. I'm saying that I want to be done traveling. I think I want to stay in Austin."

Patrick managed to grab his wife's coffee cup before she spilled it all over the carpet as she jumped up and ran over to her aunt to hug her.

"That's fantastic! Oh, Aunt Jeannette, I'm so happy to hear that."

Jeannette laughed. "Well, I'm glad because I would like to talk to you about buying this house from you."

"Oh, wow- yeah, that's fine," Teresa assured her. "We can take care of turning over the deed to you as soon as you want."

"There are still things to discuss like a what you want me to pay for it," Jeannette saw Teresa starting to object and raised her hand. "And I don't want you to even think that you're going to sell it to me for less than you paid for it. However, we don't have to do this right away. I know you're both very busy with a case so we'll work on it as we get the time."

Patrick set his cup down and said, "We're both thrilled you're going to stay. It's been a long time since either of us had family close by."

She leaned over and patted him on the knee. "I know you two have been through a lot and I have a feeling something's going on now that has you very worried so if I can help in any way, I want to do what I can."

She straightened up when she realized what she had just said. "However, having said that, I do need to tell you that I'm going to unavailable for a few days."

"Why?" Teresa automatically asked before she realized it wasn't actually any of her business. "I'm sorry. You don't have to tell us if you don't want to." .

"It's not big deal. Myrtis and I are working on a project together and we'll be in and out and around and about," Jeannette casually explained hoping she was good enough to ease any suspicions Patrick might have.

She wasn't but he wasn't going to push her. She was right that he and Teresa had enough to deal with at the moment. As long as she was okay, he would let it go. Still, he felt the need to make her a bit uncomfortable.

"In and out. Around and about," he paraphrased her and she nodded. "I suppose that's while you'll be here and there doing this and that."

Jeannette's too innocent smile was very reminiscent of her niece's when she was trying to pull the wool over his eyes. She continued nodding, "Yes, something like that."

Teresa was curious, too, but she also knew that her aunt had told them as much about her plans as she was willing at the moment so there was no point in pushing further.

"Give us a call if you need anything and when you're back, we'll have dinner together- Myrtis, too," Teresa suggested.

Patrick looked at his watch and said, "Teresa, I think it's about time for us to take Clara home."

Teresa agreed and all three adults stood.

Patrick got Clara's travel bag repacked and leaned down into the playpen and picked up his daughter who was already half asleep. She briefly fussed until he whispered something to her and she quieted and nestled close.

Jeannette leaned over the child and gave her a kiss on the head. Quietly she said, "Goodnight, precious Clara, I'll miss you."

She turned and gave Teresa a big hug and the two women assured each other that they would call if anything was needed. At the door, Patrick let his wife walk out ahead of him and turned to Jeannette and said, "Whatever you and Myrtis are doing, please be careful. Teresa and I may have a case but nothing's more important that family. Don't be afraid to ask us for anything."

Why had she even tried to hide anything from this man? She gave another big sigh. "Patrick, I promise I'm not doing anything stupid but I do have to take care of a few things if I'm ever going to be happy. You of all people should understand."

That did not comfort him but there was also nothing he could say except to wish her a goodnight and safe travels.

When he got to the car he strapped Clara into her car seat and joined Teresa who had decided to drive. She started the car before she said to him, "She's still hiding something, isn't she."

He agreed. "Whatever it is, she doesn't want to have us involved but it's definitely serious. I guess we'll just have to be ready."

"I guess so," she responded as she pulled from the curb and they headed home.

In the house, Jeannette walked through the house that she wanted to become her own and made sure that every window was locked and both doors were bolted. Then she set the security system before she picked up the phone and made a call.

"Hi, Myrtis… yes, that was them leaving. … She was happy about the house. … No I didn't, but I think he suspects. … yes … I know … We'll take care of it. … I'll see you in the morning… Oh, Myrtis? … Thanks again. … Goodnight."


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

The next day Jane was stretched out on his couch staring at the ceiling and appeared to the undiscerning eye to be daydreaming while his partner in all things sat at her desk pulling up victim profiles looking for commonalities. However, while she was working that part of the case he was trying to come up with an explanation for the face visible only with luminol at the crime scenes. The more he thought about it, the less he believed it had anything to do with the serial killer who had caused him so much unbelievable pain.

"It's less a signature and more like a secret message," he muttered quietly not realizing that he had done so at least three times.

Not turning her eyes from her screen, Lisbon returned, "That's obviously significant in your opinion so do you want to share with the rest of the class?"

"He's not interested in having just anyone see the face. You have to look for it and you have to be equipped to find it. A signature would be something he wanted everyone to see. No, this is a call for our attention."

"Because the dead and mutilated body wasn't giving him enough?" she asked in a confused tone as she looked over her shoulder at him.

He sighed, "C'mon. Think about it. A signature would be seen by anyone who stumbled across the scene. He obviously isn't interested in having just anybody see it. He goes on this cross country odyssey killing people- for reasons we don't know yet- but he knows if he links the crime scenes with the face, the FBI will be involved. More to the point- we'll be involved."

Teresa turned and watched him closely, "But you said you weren't sure this was related to Red John. If the message is for us, doesn't that mean it must be?"

He slowly sat up and returned her regard. "The face is the quickest way to get the cases sent to us, but that doesn't mean it has anything to do with Red John or the Blake Association. That's why the first case we know of was very violent but not the same as the others."

"He still had to learn more about the signature," she concluded.

Jane nodded, "He may have only come up with the idea after the murder- maybe to cover up something that he didn't want found."

Lisbon turned back to her computer and pulled up the files on the Pierce Thorton murder. "It appears that Thorton must have known his killer. There were no signs of forced entry and the violence didn't seem to start until he was in his home office. So what was there in the office that caused the fight? And how does it relate to the other murders?"

"And how does that relate to or cause the killer to move on to his next victim?" Jane added to the list of questions.

Lisbon began opening windows on her screen as she suggested, "Let's see if there's a connection between Pierce Thorton, accountant, Nathan Mosely, lab technician, AND the CBI."

"The CBI?" he questioned.

"If it's a message that is for the two of us and he's co-opting Red John's trademark, I think it's safe to say that this has more to do with something from our CBI days," she explained.

He thought for a moment then conceded her point, "Okay, that makes sense."

She looked closely at the data side by side on the screen, "I don't see a link between the two men or between Thorton and the CBI, but I do see a link between Mosely and the CBI. His lab handled a lot of testing for the CBI when the state lab was too backlogged."

Jane walked over and bent to read the screen. "Were any of the cases ones we worked on?"

"Don't know. I'll have to contact the lab and see if they can tell me what if any of our cases they processed." she answered with a frown.

Jane saw her looking at the screen as if she was trying to see something that wasn't there. "What are you thinking?"

She explained hesitantly, "I feel as if I should know something about this but I can't put my finger on it."

"Like you may have sent evidence to the lab?"

She shrugged one shoulder, "Maybe. I'm going to call the lab and see what they can tell me."

As she looked for the contact information, Cho came over carrying a cup of coffee. "So have you two come up with anything yet?"

Jane replied, "Well, we're not sure."

Lisbon asked Cho, "Do you remember any CBI cases that we sent to Mosely's lab for testing?"

He frowned, "Not off the top of my head, but if we were going outside the state lab, that was something you would have done with permission of the director or assistant director. Do you think that happened?"

"I'm not sure," she explained. "I know that Mosely's lab acted as an outsource for the CBI and the more I think about it the more I think I remember seeing an email from the director telling supervisors to use them or a couple other labs if we were too far down on the list the state lab. However, I'll need to see some files to be completely sure."

"Okay, see what you can find and we'll go from there," Cho watched Lisbon pick up the phone to make the call then turned to Jane, "Anything else?"

Jane sighed, "I definitely think the message was meant specifically for us. Only those of us who worked together at the CBI would be aware of the significance of what was going on at the crime scene and by making it hard to find, the killer is making sure that we're the ones most involved."

"Is it Blake Association?"

"Very doubtful," Jane answered and explained, "The first couple of murders and messages were not as clear as they would have been if it was one of Red John's disciples. They would have taken pride in getting it exactly right. I don't think any of them would have done such a poor job of it."

"Not even to confuse us?" Cho argued.

"That would defeat the point of putting it there in the first place," Jane rebutted.

Cho agreed, "Got it. Let me know when you have more. Thanks, guys."

Cho walked away as Lisbon finished her call. She looked up at Jane and said, "The assistant is going to cross check the files and get back to me later today."

"Okay," Jane said as he looked at his watch, "It's just about 12:30. I thought I'd go downstairs and see Clara and then get lunch, want to come with me?"

Lisbon sighed, "I'd love to get out of here for a while but I really want to give these cases another look. How about I go with you to see Clara and then could you bring me something back from the deli?"

Patrick smiled. There was a time when he never would have been able to get Teresa out of the office for anything at this point of a big case. The fact that she was willing to leave long enough to see their daughter told him that her priorities had definitely changed and he was thrilled. She was a terrific mother, a fact that he never doubted would be true.

"Sure," he said as he stepped back to let her get up from her desk. They stopped at the conference room and Jane took deli orders for Wylie, Calvin Sutton, and Tork before leaving.

Penny Paulson, a housekeeper at the Bellamy Hotel, pushed her cart down the fifth floor hallway. She was tired but grateful that the day was almost over. The extra money she'd made in overtime for working on Saturday and Sunday, plus the tips that the gorgeous man had given her to make sure his room was perfect for his wife, were going to come in handy but it hadn't been easy. Between the genealogists' convention and all the other guests it felt like she had been cleaning rooms even in her sleep.

At least today she wasn't as rushed to get the rooms turned over for check-in. That was the best part of the early week, she thought as she came upon the door with the "Do Not Disturb" sign on it.

She shook her head. According to what another housekeeper had told her, this room had been like this all weekend and even through yesterday. The room that connected to it was emptied Monday morning and had been a real mess with liquor bottles everywhere and trash that had missed the waste cans. It was apparently two young women who were looking for a good time and she bet neither one even remembered it today. Two of her co-workers had been tasked yesterday with clearing it out and said that it had taken forever to clean it.

Penny knew that the couple in this room had checked out very early this morning so she ignored the sign and put her passcard in the lock. "Housekeeping!" she called just to be on the safe side and pushed the door open with her hip as she reached behind her to the cart to grab a large trashbag she was sure she would need. She turned completely around and saw the room only after she had stepped in a couple feet.

She would later say that she couldn't tell you if she saw the body of the petite brunette or not. All she saw was red and brownish red covering the floor, walls, and ceiling. Her sneakers squished on the carpet as more red surrounded them oozing up through the carpet where she stood shivering. The stench of copper and sourness and something akin to the smell of roadkill assaulted her nose and filled her mouth. Her one thought as she ran from the room screaming was that she had always been told that Hell burned with the flames of sin but they were wrong. It was really icy cold.

He sat in his room at the little dumpy hotel next to the highway listening to a local radio station as he cleaned his gun. He preferred to keep the knife for the kills he was presenting to them and to use other methods to get rid of the loose details. There was a chance that the blondes had been so drunk that they wouldn't remember anything but he didn't want to count on that. No, he had made the right call. Eventually, someone would find their bodies but by that point it would be too late. He finished cleaning the weapon as he quietly hummed along with the music until there was a news update at the top of the hour.

"We have breaking news that squad cars, an ambulance, and the coroner's van have arrived at the entrance of the Bellamy Hotel. No word yet on what has occurred but stay tuned for further details," the newsreader announced before an update of the weather came.

He stopped humming and began chuckling. Things were starting to happen now.

Wylie, Tork, and Sutton had been joined by Lisbon and Jane when he returned with the lunch orders. They were starting to clean up their mess when Cho walked into the room.

"There's been a murder at the Bellamy Hotel," he announced.

"The Bellamy?" Lisbon said as she stood up. "We were just there Saturday night."

"I know," Cho said.

"Why are we going to it? I thought we were working on the serial case?" asked Tork who was still cleaning up the ketchup that he had squirted on the table by mistake.

"We are," Cho said as he turned around. "Wylie told Austin PD to let me know if they got a particularly violent homicide that they thought matched at least part of our guy's M.O. They have."

Everyone started grabbing what they would need and heading for the elevator. Each hoped the police were being overly cautious and each worried that they weren't. It appeared that things were escalating.

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 **I solemnly promise to post more soon - as long as life doesn't get in the way. Cheers! ~~ archijenn**


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